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FOKEIG. PDLICYw-CUBA. 



S P E E C H 



HON. E. C. MARSHALL, OF CALIFORNIA, 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY 6, 1853, , 

III the Commit tec of the Whole on the state of the Union, on the randticl of the present 
.hiministraiion in regard to Cuba, and our Foreign j)olicij generally. 



Mr. MARSHALL saul: 

Mr. CH.MKMA^Wriiiul not wisKed or infpndpd to 

rlaim the attention of the cominiltee to the remarks 
1 propose to make to-day. I hud intended, and 
still intend (unless tlie duty is discharged by some 
one who can bring before the House the authority 
of a greater name) to oftera resolution to this elTect: 
That the Committee on Ways and Means be di- 
rected to report a bill placing at the disposal of the 
President of the United States the sum of five 
or ten millions'of money in the Treasury, and not 
otherwise appropriated, to meet any exigencies 
which may arise before the meeting of the next 
Congress in our foreign relations. [ wished to 
have presented some such resolution in the House, 
not only that it might give rise to discu.ssion of 
matters of a jiractical and important bearing on the 
interests of the country, but liiat such discussion ' 
might be followed by some action on the part of 
this House which would have significance before 
the people. I had hoped, and still hope, that a 
vote of the House, giving unequivocal expression 
of opinion upon practical questions will be taken, 
and I entertain the fullest confidence that that vote 
will have the happiest effect at home and abroad. 
The expression herein committee of abstract opin- 
ions on questions which may never arise, and 
■which certainly will only arise in the remote future, 
i.s no part of my purpose to-day. 

There are nfl'.iirs now pending in regard to which ; 
the action of the Executive, so far as any action ; 
has been had, has been, as I think, and as I shall 
endeavor to prove, j-uihous to the interests and \ 
filial to the honor of the nation. Fortunately, our ' 
foreign policy may yet be changed, or rather, a 
foreign policy may be establi.sned consistently ' 
with the faitli of treaties and all our obligations, ' 
while the public interests are protected and the 
national honor redeemed. The resolution which 
I propose to introduce will announce to the incom- 
ing Administration our perfect confidence in it, as 
th<» popular vote in the late election has done on J 
the part of the people themselves. It is ofl^ered not 
as a war measure, but simply implies that a change 
of policy is de.sired, and that the Executive will 
havetjie support, the earnest and effectual support 
of Corfgtess. A vote of confidence of this charac- 
ter is not vithout precedent in our history; and it 
is also established firmly in the Government from 
which many of our usages and laws are derived. 
I shall urge this measure upon the Democratic , 



Ij party as a peace measure, and one which slrikes 
il mc no the moot important ujion which we nhnll 
have to act, in its effects upon our national char- 
acter and national interests. The suiijeci of our 
Il foreign relations has been introduced by gentlemen 
in committee, and questions have been delated 
I which, although not identical with tho.se which I 
think render neces.sary the vote of confidence of 
which I have spoken, are yet cognate questions; 
I and as the points to which I attach the greatest 
importance nave been almost neglected and doc- 
trines inculcated of the worst inlluence upon the 
State which I represent, in part, I have determined 
to give my own views of those f|uestions at this 
time, although I think the subject would have come 
L up with more, propriety and eff'ect upon a re.solu- 
I tion before the House. I shall call the attention 
of the committee to the diplomacy of this Govern- 
' ment in the Island of Hayti and the Republic of 
, Nicaragua, because there We have incurred the 
deepest shame and sustained the greatest loss, and 
' because these evils are not without ea«y remedy; 
and for the further reason that the State whicli I 
represent in part ha.s a special and local interest in 
the policy of the Government a.s regards tlie Gulf 
of Mexico, its islands and shores. 

It is true, as a general principle, that in a Con- 
, federacy like ours, the more remote members are, 
and ought to be, more jealous of the honor, and 
; more sen.«itive to every indication of weakness of 
;] the Union, than those nearer the political and geo- 
graphical center. Civis sum .'liiuricamfi is uttered 
with more pride on the shores of the Pacific than 
the Potomac. 

We lean upon the General Government for sup- 
port; and nowhere within the ample boundaries 
of the Union does there exist the same sentiment 
of confiding de|jendence that we feel. At the 
same time there are none of the States which have 
fe^t with such poignant shame the sacrifice of honor 
and principle, and the deep humiliation, brought 
on us as a people by the present Administration. 

We believe, we know, that there fs strength 
enough in the Government, under a manly and 
patriotic Administration, to jfrotect all its parts in 
all their rights. The eagle's wing is strong cnotigh 
to bear its flight over the continent, and its beak 
and talons sharp enough to guard its charge, even 
though the lion of England should array himself 
against it in his acknowledge*] power. 

The interest so universally felt in the subject of 






inter-oceanic communication, and much of that felt 
in regard to the islands and shores of the Gulf of 
Mexico, has arisen since, and depends on the ac- 
quisition of California. Commercial necessity 
forces us to transmit, monthly, nearly three mil- 
lions of specie through an independent republic, 
and under the very guns of fortresses which have 
only to hold us in the contempt we have merited 
to become hostile; and the inestimable rights of 
every kind of our citizens are exposed through 
the same causes, and to the same dangers. 1 feel 
obliged, therefore, even on occasions not pecu- 
liarly appropriate, even when the effort will not be 
productive of immediate action, to assert tlie doc- 
trines I hold, and to expose the imbecility and 
corruption, from which even now we are suffering. 
The Island of Cuba, and the possibility and prob- 
ability of its annexation to tlie Union, and the 
policy of the Administration toward the Govern- 
ment on which it is dependent, have produced 
much debate. The danger of collision between 
Spain and ourselves seems to me to have passed 
for the present, and, right or wrong, the questions 
between us are settled. I do not think that in 
good faith the next Adrtiinistration con, or that it 
•will, assert any claim or principle likely to renew 
the late difficulties, or to change materially our 
relations with Spain or Cuba. I cannot see that 
any immediate necessity exists for a change in our 
policy, or that any practical question is likely to 
arise. Neither the next Administration, nor the 
present generation, will be called on to act in re- 
gard to it, and I am willing to leave it to the wis- 
dom and courage and patriotism of those who 
will, by the course of events, and in the fullness 
of time, have to meet it. I cannot but allude to 
one significant fact, of which I have seen no ex- 
planation, which goes to prove that the Adminis- 
tration is by no means confident of the propriety 
of its course in the most exciting and threatening 
of the Cuban difficulties. The American Consul 
in Havana, who had pursued precisely the course 
consistent with the expressed views and instruc- 
tions of the Government, who carried out with a 
tameness and cowardice, which should have made 
him Secretary of State, the will of the Executive, 
was by that very Executive dismissed with dis- 
honor, and given over to the execrations of the 
whole unanimous people, without oiie ward of ex- 
planation or defense. ^ > . ]. '■, ;., , •'! / 

The gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. Ven- 
ABLF.,] who introduced this discussion, did notcon- 
f.ne himself to an examination of the policy of the 
Administration in respect to Cuba, but went on to 
the assertion of general principles, which I was 
surprised to hear from him, and in which I by no 
means concur. That gentleman also indulged 
liim.self in a general reprobation of the doctrines 
of progress, and the plans of filibusters, and 
seemed to intimate a belief that some political par- 
ty, or section of a party, were desirous of lawless 
conquest, and in favor of predatory incursions 
upon neighboring Powers, especially if those Pow- 
ers were weaker than ourselves. Now, sir, let me 
say in behalf of Young America, and the pro- 
gressives, with whose opinions I sympathize, that 
we desire to do no one thing which is not consist- 
ent with the sound principles of public law, and 
the rights of all our neighbors. That we do not 
desire war for conquest, or any purpose; that we 
regard it as the greatest evil, except dishonor. 
And further, that we advocate no measure of for- 
eign policy which ought, or which we believe will, 
lead to war. We contend for no new doctrine; 



we merely insist upon the strict observance of 
principles well established by authority, and ne- 
cessary for our own peace and safety. I shall, in 
another cnnnection, state the doctrines to which I 
allude, while I now consider some of the leading 
propositions of the gentleman, [iVlr. Venable,] 
which I believe constitute a faith common to the 
gentleman and the more conservative portion of 
the Whig party. 

If I understood the gentleman, he was opposed 
to the annexation of Cuba at any time, and in any 
way, on the ground that the Union could not with 
safety embrace any additional territory. 1 will 
also state what I believe is the real operative rea- 
son of the objection of that gentleman. It is a 
conviction, now nearly universal, that the progress 
of slavery in American territory is arrested. That 
in all future acquisitions, irom the operation of 
many active causes, the institution of slavery will 
not exist. It is clear that whatever' the reason as- 
signed, the ground of opposition to the accjuisition 
of a country so manifestly advantageous to the 
South as Cuba would be, either as a free or slave 
State, is jealousy of the North. 

Mr. Chairman, the time is pn.st when the ques- 
tion of slavery in any territory about to be ac- 
quired, can produce the agitation and danger which 
has arisen from it. The principle is settled by the 
compromise, that the citizens of such territory, at 
the time, shall determine for themselves this ques- 
tion; and if the North should, by its greater ener- 
gy and aptitude for emigration, acquire the popular 
power, and the right under the rule so settled by 
the compromise, to declare any territory seeking 
admission into the Union, free, the South could 
not, if it would, under the Constitution and laws, 
and would not if it could, resist a measure benefi- 
cial to the whole nation. The South should be 
satisfied with the guarantees of the Constitution 
and the laws, for their peculiar institution; and 
even if it be receding, if the conditions of human 
society, and the progress of free States militate 
against it; if with the protection thrown round it 
by the organic law of the land, it be yet in its own 
nature temporary and evanescent, and about to 
disappear before the democratic energies and the 
laws of political economy, there is neither the 
wisdom of a statesman, nor the generous patriot- 
ism of a good citizen, m seeking to impede thead- 
vance, and check the development of States where 
no such institvuion obtains. 

1 believe myself, and I speak only for myself, 
that there will be no more slave territory annexed 
to the United States. The history of the country, 
and especially of California, establishes the fact, 
and illustrates the principle which governs ths 
.case. Look at California. If slavery could ever 
' progress, it would have obtained there. Slavery 
IS only advantageous to the slaveholder in coun- 
tries where the largest amount of labor can be be- 
stowed on the smallest surface, and where it pays 
the heaviest profit. Now, sir, since man first left 
the Garden of Eden, there has been no place dis- 
covered where these conditions. are so wonderfully 
met, as in California — and yet I tell gentlemen that 
there never was a time when slavery could have 
been introduced there, nor is such a time coming. 
We approved the compromise; but the chamcter 
of our State was fixed without it. Labor was im- 
posed as a curse, (and it is awful in my private 
opinion,) and free citizens will not submit to have 
it made dishonorable, as well as disagreeable, by 
I slave competition. Free men will be the first em- 
' igrants, and they have, and will protect their ojis- 



locracy of labor from the action of organized capital, i 
in the shape of slavery. j 

But as regards the proposition now Ijejjiniiing 
to be ursred in tlie most unexpected rpiHrter, tiiiit 
any extension of territory i» dangerous to tlie 
Uiiion, I shall say only a few woids. Tlie directly 
opposite proposition would seem true upon its 
mere statement — cirl'iinly cvcryndilition ot' terri- 
tory, voluntarily connectiiii; itself with an cxiat- , 
ing government, increases the physical loi-ce and [ 
resources of every kind, at the dis^Ktsition of the 
constituted authorities of the whole. 

It is true that a pme democracy can only exist 
within narrow territorial limits, and with a very 
small population, for the oljvious reason that 
where the people assemble and pass laws directly, 
that ordy a very few can meet or act in concert. 
Our own observation and experience proves that 
such democracy should consist of fewer citizens 
than compose this House, if prompt and eflicienl 
legislation is the thitiir desired. Llut thaidifiiculty, 
which is as old aa the formation of society, was 
obviated by the system of responsible representa- 
tivpsnf tlif peoplelhpniselves. Plie other objection, 
that a le5;islature asseml)led from vast distances, 
could not wisely provide for tlie local wants of re- 
gions remote, and to the jjreat majority of its com- 
ponent members, whoily unknown, has been met 
only conclusively in the history of the world by 
our own system, partly national and partly federal. 
The establishment of the doctrine of State rights, 
as a security for elHcicnt local le£jislation,nnd a Fed- 
eral Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary, for the 
arrangement of foreign relations and of domestic 
affairs, throwing its guardian arm over all, is per- 
fect in theory and in ]irnctice. it a[^pears to give ' 
the only absolute security against the prevalence 
of dangerous faction, by placing always, in the 
hands of the National Government, the force of 
more than half of the Confederacy; and against ; 
foreign invasion it is a self-evident security — and 
these internal factions and foreign wars exclude 
flll the perils which can menace a nation. I con- 
fess that 1 can see only one limit to the safe ex- 
tension of territory, and that is in a distance 
so great that the constituent citizens would be 
unable to holtl the representative to the rigid re- 
sponsibility which is the basis of the whole sys- ' 
tern. 

Such, a Government seems to me to grow stronger 
with each accession of territory, and like a well- 
constructed arch, to acquire greater firmness from ; 
increased pressure and accumulated weight. But 
suppose the worst did happen, from the annexa- 
tion of Cuba, or any other jirovince — suppose the , 
worst to have come — that the parts could no longer 
hold toirether, hut must dissolve: what then? 
1 say, still, that the experiment is worth frying, ' 
and that good would result even from the tempo- 
rary union. We would have introduced new ' 
ideas: we would have taught the lesson of self- \ 
government, of resistance to oppression, of free- ' 
dom, of the equality of men in the eye of the law, ' 
of the dignity of the individual, without which i 
teachings, man had better not be. I 

We would have made converts to the faith of , 
human liberty, and given their true value to a na- 
tion; and whether we continued to exist in one | 
Union, or broke into fifty free republics, the world 
would be improved by the tiiffusion of that know!- , 
edge, which alone makes life toleralile. The great 
Union so broken, would be like a fractured dia- 
mond, less valuable certainly in its fragmentary 
state, but still the same precious material, reflect- ' 



ing from each brillimii part the light or American 
civilization, intelligence, and liberty. 

No one cnn have lt8H nympatliy tlinn myaelf 
with the wild exceHHeH into whut; ducirincii lit>ernl, 
but at the same time iiafc and prudent, have been 
HometimeH curried. I would by no ineaiiii drfend 
the vngaricH of Annilmr.-m Cloolt, or amh arcta 
an he re[)reMen(e<l. I nunn to be never the ad- 
vocate of wild uiul Nelforttrifjciug propngnndmni; 
but 1 prefer it nuich, i^i iia worai form, to the ex- 
treme of conRervatimu— that runiu-rvntiiim which 
would, ill terror and HnM|iicion, withdraw from all 
foreign inieicouiHeintoJai.niie^eHolitude; that con- 
servatism which, in dreud of cntungling aliinn'-ea, 
would refii.se to declare n prinnpU. .,f public law, 
or in the maintenance of Ktri<t ncuiraliiy iirglrct lo 
, defend il^ citizens, |diindtrid by bmh belligerenu; 
that conservatism whi<h instrucis tiie rcrpreaent- 
atives of a great llepublic to avoid in monarchical 
courts the expression of the sentiment of the coun- 
try they represent, or the inculcniion abroad of 
the free principles which alone give value to gor- 
ernment; that conservatism which has already made 
our own diplomatic corps mere evidence.-) of the 
power, mere trappings and circumBtanies to swell 
the pomp and flatter the insolence of those j>oitn- 
tates to whom their very presence shr)uld be a sol- 
emn v.'arning; that conservatism which dnrea not 
interpose in friendly mediation between its own 
neighbors, without callim: in the crownetl heads 
of Europe to destroy its Induence, and laugh at its 
folly. Liberal opinions and bold policy niay run 
into inconsiderate rashness; but ]>rudenlcon9ervn- 
tism may also degenemte into Cfiwardly imbecility. 
The notions of an hundred years past are not ne- 
cessarily or generally suitable or safe at this date. 

The conservatism of the present day is a mere 
eddy in the rushing and resistless tide of human 
development and progress. The position of our 
continent, its mere geographical position, makes 
impftssible the policy of conservatism. Placed be- 
tween the civilization of the Orientals, which the 
maturity of despotism has well-nigh destroyed, 
and the nations of Europe still fresh and vigorous 
even under the curse of monarchical and aristo- 
cratic institutions, commercial necessity, like the 
attraction of gravitation, forces contact with both. 
Commerce must have its agents, must be protect- 
ed. Representatives of the Government, with 
political character higher than the mere consul, 
and hedged round by the sacred jus po.^//tminii, in- 
troduce the very atmosphere of the re(«ublic to the 
court of the monarch — opinions are diflused, sym- 
pathies are created, interests spring up, which 
may be aflected by the terms of treaties to which 
we are not parties; wars and jiacif^atjons, trans- 
fers of territories by which our rights and privi- 
leges may be sacrificed, so blendeJ become tlie 
interests of commercial nations that an injury to 
one is an injury to the other. The United States 
must either adopt a Japanese seclusion, or she 
will be forced into entangling alliances, and will 
become the involuntary propagandist of the hide- 
ous principle of republican liberty. Conservatism 
is impossible: we must go backward or forward. 
We must decline into worse than colonial feeble- 
ness, or we must accomplish a mission of world- 
widebeneficence. Fogyism itself would look hope- 
fully forward from one of our California prom- 
Oiitories, around which break, unchecked in their 
wild play for six thousand miles, the giant waves 
of the Pacific ocean. (Plenipotentiaries from Chin.i 
otVering unrestricted intercourse) — Fogyism itself 
wouW become a convert to progress, and fancy 



p 



the very coiitinent a vast ship voyaging triiimph- 
Riiily into tliat future, which opens bright but 
boundless around humanity. 

I have said, Mr. Chairman, tlint the subject to 
which I should ask the attention of the comViiittee, 
was of a practical character. In the investigation 
of the policy of the Administration in the island 
of Hayti, I shall attempt to prove th.at the doc- 
trine of Mr. Monroe, and the principles of na- 
tional law, and the dictate^ of humanity, and the 
impulses of universal manhood, that all the settled 
and necessary rules of conduct peculiar to the 
United States, as between it and the Powers of 
Eurojie, in the adjustment of the allairs of thia 
continent, and the instruction and all-pervading 
sense of dignity and personal con-sequence which 
" regulates t!ie deportment of man to man, have 
been openly and absurdly violated. That the 
rights and 'interests of the United States, the 
rights and interests of a sister Republic, have been 
continually and wantonly sacrificed. These are 
strong terms, but I shall endeavor to establish the 
title of the Administration to yet stronger epi- 
thets. And here, sir, in advance of the argu- 
ment, and assuming, for a moment, what I pro- 
pose to prove, I must express my astonishment 
and mortification at the course of thecentral Dem- 
ocratic journal, (The Union,) in regard to this 
affair. This journal, which should be the organ 
of the part)' — which should exert an immense in- 
fluence in the formation of public opinion — which 
should gather, with patient labor, correct informa- 
tion for general diftusion; this paper v/hich should 
be a vigilant sentinel over the doings of the Ad- 
ministration, has selected this disgraceful negotia- 
tion for its approbation. The Union has exhibited 
the last degree of ignorance and thoughtlessness 
in its article upon this subject, and has not only 
failed to throw any light upon it, but has not even 
reflected truly the conclusions or reasoning of 
even the most careless observers of passing events. 
We want beyond everything a party organ which 
shall be conducted, not as a commercial specula- 
tion, not solely or principally with a view to pecu- 
niary advantage, but a periodical which shall be 
the jealous guardian of the rights of the people 
and the honor of the nation; which shall speak 
with the boldness of conscious knowledge on all 
subjects of public importance. U|)on this ques- 
tion of Hayti, the Republic copies the article ©f 
the Union as hdng perfectly in accordance xcitli the 
rieics of the Mministration. Did not the Union 
know, had its editor never heard, that the Demo- 
cratic party, so far as it had expressed, by the 
press or otherwise, its opinions on this point, had 
visited, with the deepest reprobation, the course of 
the Administration .' — but the article itself contains 
(what every one in the country knows, and noth-' 
ing more) enough to convict itself of absurdity, 
and the Executive of weakness and disregard of 
one of the fundamental principles of American 
policy. It says: 

"In (;ener;il, the foreign policy of Prcfiilent Fillmore's 
adniiiiislralion liax not been in accordance with our notion 
of wlKit the foreisn pulley of this country shoulil be, and we 
havr li-iii constraiiiiil in some instances to express an ein- 
jiliatii- (li-a|)()ro!)alJi>ii hI' rii!;otiations wliioli seeirted to us 
to eoni|ir(>inisc the diiinity and to surrender therishts of the 
United States. For this reason, any instances of an ener- 
getic or wise administration of the foreiijn alfairs of the 
country by an Kxecutivc whose (jenerai policy we have been 
constrained to condemn, will the mori' readily enniniand 
our warmest commendation. Snch an iiislance of wise 
diploniaey do we regard the efl'orls of this (lovcriunent, in 
conjunction with Great liritain and France, to arrest the 
eani;uiriary design* of the negro Emperor ol llaytijigainst 
the republic of Uoiuituca. ^ 



" By some means, publicity has been piven to the corre- 
spondence between the State Department and Mr. Robert 
M. Walsh, its aaent in the negotiation for the |incififation 
of Hayti. In the various papers which eonsiitutc this cor- 
respondence, the motives and purposes of tiie Administra- 
tion in proflerini; its yood offices in behalf of the Dominican 
republic, are frankly and clearly set forth. 

" fn 1821, the Spanish portion of the Island of St Do- 
mingo voluntarily subjected itself to the government of 
Hayti, then presided over by Boyer. On the expi!l>ioti of 
Hoyer, and on account of the wrongs and grievances which 
they had emlured, with a repetition of which they were 
menaced, the Dominicans threw oflthe subjection of negro 
government and established an independent republic. To 
this step the .Spanish inhabitants of St. Domingo were driven 
by the necessity of self-preservation. Not only were their 
political rights and their liberty invad('<l and trampled upon 
by the black barbarians of Hayti, but the doom of indis- 
criminate slaughter and extermination was incessantly held 
before them in the threats of the Macaya and Dcssalines. 

" By the inost im[ierious necessity, then, were the Do- 
minicans impelled to set up an independent government. 
Nevertheless, their act of separation was regarded as a re- 
volt by the negroes of Hayti, who prepared to reduce the 
rebel whites to subjection by the strong arm of force. All 
the eflbrfs of the Haytian government were unequal, how- 
ever, to the reconquest of Dominica. The ."Spaniards de- 
fended themselves with valor and energy, and, despite the 
disparity of numbers, successfully repelled ilie invasions of 
their foes. They achieved and estaWfeshed their independ- 
ence. France formally recognized tin; republic of Domi- 
nica. England and the United States recognized it by their 
acts. Still Soulouque refused to acknowledge the inde- 
pendence of the Dominicans, and persisted in his efforts to 
reduce them to subjection. In this juncture, under the 
apprehension of a very formidable attack by Soulouque, the 
Dominican government solicited the mediation of the (Jni- 
ted States, Great Britain, and France, to restore, if possible, 
peaceable relations with its savage neighbors. Great Britain 
and France promptly acceded to the proposition., impelled 
thereto by every consideration of justice and humanity. 
Without reluctance, the United States followed their exam- 
ple. The Government dispatched Mr. Walsh to the Hay- 
tian cou.'t, to co<iperate with the representatives of Great 
Britain and France in the humane endeavor to persuade 
the Emperor Soulotique to abandon his hostile designs 
against the Dominicans. 

" Persuasion could not appease his ferocious wrath, nor 
could threats drive him from his bloody purposes. He per- 
sisted in his designs against Dominica, and would in no 
manner acknowledge its independence. The utmost the 
mediating Powers could eifect was the prolongation of an 
existing truce. 

" And this was the issue of a negotiation for which the 
Administration deserves credit. It originated in an impulse 
of humanity, and sought to protect a civilized community 
from the oppression and ferocity of a blood-thirsty savage. 
The mission of Mr. Walsh was a mission of peace and true 
philanthropy." 

Even in the imperfect history of the Island of 
Hayti here given, it is clear that the Dominicans 
were entitled to their independence in the judg- 
ment both of the Union and the Administration; 
that being so entitled, and in fact being independ- 
ent, they invited the United States to protect then* 
against a savage whose power wtrs originally 
founded on murder, and continued and sustained 
by lawless outrage. The Union indorses this par- 
agraph from the instructions of Mr. Webster to 
Mr. Walsh, the agent who conducted the nego- 
tiation: 

" You will then, conjointly with your colleagues, require 
the Emperor to conclude a permanent peace with the Do- 
minican government upon the basis which you may jointly 
prescribe to him, or to consent to a truce with that govern- 
ment of not less than ten years. 

" The Emperor should be made properly aware of the 
dangers which he and his country may encounter, it; he 
should be unfortunately advised to reject reasonable terms 
of pacilication; but you will stop at remonstrance until 
further notice." 

Now, if this means anythitig, it means that the 
United States assert a right to intervene forcibly, 
if necessary, in the affairs of the island, and that 
that intervention has been made in a way' that calls 
for " the warmest commendations" from the 
Union. Tiiose warmest commendations are be- 
stowed upon the total failure *' to appease his 



(Sonlouque's) ferocious wrath," or *' drive )iiin 
from his bloody pnrj)o.<)e." if tlie Union desired 
to defend or explain this conteniptihle fiiikire, it 
would have hcen f^enerous to the AdininiHtrntion; 
bill to bestow tlie wnrmesl coniniendiuionN upon 
it for perniittiiiii; ii Moody siivn^e — not acknowl- 
edged by the vei'y Administration itself as one of 
the recof^iii/.ed Powers of tlie eariii — to mock and 
defy it, while he does the very thin» about whioh 
the issue has iicen made, is self-evi(fent nonsense. 
This is tiie plain sialement: The United States 
says to Soulonqne, Vou shall not make war on 
the republic of Dominirft; Soulouqne says, I wdl 
make war on the repiil)lic of iJontinica; and the 
United States don't say anytiiing more — but tiie 
Union says, it is "an enerjjetic and wise admin- 
istration of the foreifjn alVairs of the country. 

Oh, shade of Do-^bernj .' rejoice, that at ieoi^th 
tliv profound teachinijs are appreciated by a Whig 
Administration and a Democratic editor: 

" XJosftcrri/. You shall CDiuprcliciKl all vacrom men; you 
are to bid any iiiiiii — SiiiikI, in llii- iiriiK'c's name. 
" ll'uti liman. llow if In- will iiol hlaiul .' 
" Do^lii'Tiy. Wiiy Ilirn, Inki' lio Miile of liiai, but let 
liim (;o; ami piisclitly call llie ii'>l of Uic watcli logetlier, 
and liiaiik Uoci you are ritl ofa knave.'' 

But, sir, the Union seems wholly unconscious 
that the Administration has not been content to 
render itself simply ridiculous, and contemptible; 
but that to do so etfectually, it iu\s violated a prin- 
ciple, the very clearest and least liable to dis|uite 
in our entire foreign policy. I allude to the doc- 
trine of Monroe. The Union makes itself respon- ' 
sible for the joint mediation of France and Eng- 
land, accepted by the Administration in direct and 
apparently intentional, gratuitous, am) wanton vio- 
lation of the policy which is essential alike to our 
safety and our honor. In another connection, I 
will state the doctrine, and what I conceive to be 
its meaning and effect; but for the present pur- 
pose, I would only direct the attenti(Mi of the 
Union to the National Intelligencer of December 
23d, where " noninterference on the part of Euro- 
j)ean Poirers icilli the inilepenuent Gov(nwients of the 
JVev fFurld," is stated as an admitted principle of j 
all parlies — apparently in the same ha|i]iy oblivion 
of tlie course of ihe Administration in this and 
Other transactions, as tlie Union. 

But leaving the Democratic organ to the conso- 
lation to be derived from the symjiathy of the 
Rei u'llic, I will examine the course of the Admin- 
istration in regard to Hayti, by the light of its 
own oftii-ial correspondence, and other reliable 
sources of information. The momentous import- 
ance of thi.s island to the United Suites in a com- 
mercial point of view, and its still greater im- 
portance as a naval depot, has been strangely 
overlooked. I do not speak of the policy of its 
annexation, nor do I contemplate its acquisition 
by the United States; nor do I believe that il-.e 
course of the next Administration ouijht to be or 
will be shaiied with any such jnirpose; but this 1 
do say is obvious from a single glance, that its in- ' 
dependence of Europe is of more moment to us 
than that of Cuija; and that the protection of the 
white republic, which embraces two thirds of its 
surface, against the negro empire whicii holds and 
ruins while it holds the other tliird, is at once our 
duty and our interest, and that sucli interference 
should be without the cooperation of any Euro- 
pean Power; but that in that island, more than 
elsewhere, the interference of Europe, whether as 
joint mediators, or in any other way, should be 
effectually prevented. The deoendexicf of Cuba 



on Spnin in the r " ■" , , and 

dlinculticH Wlui-I MOD. 

Hayti hntt for in .. . , . in. 

dependent of nil Eui' I .uid 

containo about thirty i Of 

this area, about one iliiiJ of i;* .^ i« in 

poHscHsion of .Soulouquc, and ih. (wo 

third.s constitnie the territory oi of 

DoininicA. Il in blcMKiJ witli n • aoat 

delighiful, and a Huil llie niont tu ' lic« 

to the windward of Culm, and holdit it, in fnci, a 
mere |>ri.simcr in itH handn if m ihr ptiu«-<iai»ii n( 
any naval or military power. Uy 
po.sitioi), it IH the true key to tlic i . 

and to both oceaiiH llic natural U. 

titles. It has upon iio norlheaiit aide a bay railed 
Samaiui, perhapH the finest in the world, and 
whicli is said at this lime tu be orcupird liy France; 
a bay of which a Frnich oolitical writer of emi- 
nence speaks in these worus: 

"Tlieru are llirof ;>oinl>i in Itin Allnnlic whirli aaaurr (1m 
inaritiini' iiripujiclcrnnco to ihv ure«t |i"Hi r «lii. Ii Imll p*. 
inl.li^ti il-flf tin ••llln-rmii of llKin -III' .(lit. 

T)if.ni:i-. Ill)- Mdir of Si. Nlrhola-, on I liuj 

of Saiiifin.i. St. Tlioiiinii, (it |ir«'«i'iil ili' ■ mn- 

tiiiie reiiler of llial |mrlM| the wurlit, Ik iioii.n.i.' i' il i> l>.irrrn 
rock, to wliioti <-vi'i\iliuiz— even worxl niiil wniii -h«« to 
be l>roii|!bt l>«nn ntiroad: ninl ln'^idci, it I . I ■ •_•. i-. Dni- 
niark. The Mole of Si. \iclio|a« U -n ■ om- 

uinnilod by n roni|mrt nretiit of hifb » lilch 

circiiinstance miiiirpn ihr inilitaryocen,' ^t- 

li-nsive territory; it Ih'Iohb", uionov.-r, i<i i 
There reinains Siiiiian&. Of all llic l>.i\i> in il 
Itay of Sainanfi is at oiioi- Un> in"-! v;i-i. !h«- i. 
anil the best dcfcnited on l! 
while all Ibr riehi-Koftlie in 
from L'old to eoal, from -i 

arc fuiind aecuniulaied in inc |>iiini~u..i »i.i'ii ;;i\< » it m 
name." 

• *••••• 

" \Vlier*>, thcn.slinii wefcarch fortheserrrt of ibr b<><ila- 
lion, wliicli iiothini: wiiIkmii orwilliin can i-\<ii..- ' I* iiin 
the lilranue illii>ion of one of oiir ln»i .Mim«t< r« of Koidgn 
.Ml'nirs. who, in reply to one that wan repreM niiiif lo bun 
the danger of the oreiipation of Saiiianti by Uic Unilr<l 
Slates, said : ' rorliinntely the Kn::li«h are >et in Jainaira;' 
so, too, were llic r.ii(>liph in ( ircgoii .■"' • • • 
" Vo, it lies, I fear, in Ihe ImdilionnI mnxim of t!i^ bureau : 
' It is none of nur business.' None of our bti'iiieaw '. Hap- 
py, indi-ed, is that eounlry which can net < i >■ ...:.. in.« ■ 

Dili are We in thai eondiiion .' When I': 
enlari^nc Ilic distance which ihe year I' 
her and us," * * • .1 

Stales are covering lh« Atlantic and Pn t ait- 

ncialionist Coriitirt ; do we not. by rem ■ < onr 

little corner, inciirthe ri»k of awakin: - ^ nrtcrl 

and powerless .' ( )iir blli.ircy is here nil • u'a- 

ble. iiiasmiieh as there areno poliiical •" ' \r[ei 

for an excuse ; that in onler to see our i, . • r Iho 

lViiiii.'>ii!a of ."Janiani, we should not have . ■. . i, :)■•' ir<>ut>l« 
of carry i lie it tbilher ; [i|iiere .') ilial, in order to conqnrr 

the (iiieslniariliine at.il I'rni "III .'i .;i ■mi \. « WtM. 

lUv I ftr ,lr }>oul oft 

|).".t of the two hill 

would only require ■■ 

nod of theliead. l;ii: w In .-.n t luuii. wiU 

object |o nil', flood dxl '. to in re what til 

tlie world, except «ur^elves, kni v. 

These considerations no wise people will over- 
look. It is true, that at present, while the re- 
sources of both divisions of the island are ex- 
hausted by wars and prepamtiona for war.i a^init 
each other, the comtnerce of the I.>;!.ind seems 
comparatively unimportant. The export* of the 
Dominican republic are about one uiiiiion annual- 
ly, and Hayti about three millionK; the jx^pula- 
liition of Dominica being about one hundred and 
•wenty-five thousand, of which only fifteen thou- 
sand are pure blacks, thiriv tlmu.snnd whiles, and 
the balance blancos, or nuxed, and Hayti about 
seven hundred thou.sand. This commerce has been 
declining, as ha.'^ the actual produce of the island, 
steadily since its occupation by the French, in 



1787, 1788, and 1789. In those years, the exports 
from Hayti alone, one third of the island — and 
with R population, all told, of five hundred and 
thirty-five thousand — was §8,783,000; the conse- 
quence is, tlmt Dominica, which has a soil equally 
productive, and twice as extensive, would, if hihe 
were sullered to, equal the condition of Hayti 
under the French in 1787, 1788, and 1789, sustain 
a pojiulation of more than a million, and export 
over fifty millions. This is an estimate infinitely 
lower than the facts justify, but it is sufficient to 
show that the interest of the United Slates consists 
with its duty; that all the motives, pecuniary ad- 
vantage, security for our trade in the Gulf, and 
the dictates of humanity, should impel us to the 
effectual protection of the Dominicans. 

But no motive of interest would be sufficient to 
direct national policy as against the public senti- 
ment of civilized and enlightened nations or the 
plain dictates of morality and justice. 

Has the United States a right to interfere? The 
Administration has not only settled that question 
as against itself by an actual interference, but it 
has published satisfactory reasons for its interven- 
tion. In addition to the instructions given to Mr. 
Walsh, quoted before, the following extract from 
a letter addressed by the representatives of the 
three Powers, Great Britain, France, and the 
United Slates, to the Haytian Minister of Foreign 
Relations, expresses the views of the Administra- 
tion, and takes the true ground: 

" In tlic eyes nf the three Powers, the independence of the 
Dominicans reposes upon a right as ssicred, afundament.il 
compact as respectable, a fact as consummate, as tlioso 
wliicli secure the independence of Kayti itself. In their 
eyes, that peoplr; is jti legitimate possession of all the titles 
which consiiiute nationaliiies the most incontestable ; a 
regular administration, a legislation protectins equally the 
persons and property of all, a military organization Doth on 
land and sea, a tla'.' enjoying the honors due to that of a free 
country, international relations through accredited agents, 
and even a solemn treaty of recognition and commerce with 
one of the chief nations of the earth." 

And from the same document: 

'• Reduced to the alternative of renouncing those advan- 
tages, or of perpetually fighting to retain them, the Domi- 
nicans have been compelled to request the intervention of 
the Powers with whom they are connected by the aforesaid 
international relations, in order to free themselves from a 
position .so deplorable. 

" That intervention they justly obtained, because a few 
words inserted in the often-modified constitution of Hayti, 
are by no means sulRcient to create for that country a right 
of perpetual possession of tlie territory of its neighbor — a 
possession entirely fictitious at the time when that consti 
tution was formed, continuing so during eighteen subse- 
quent years, and again becoming so after the lapse of seven, 
and of which the temporary existence only demonstrated 
the radical impossibility of blending two races of different 
origin, customs, manners, and language." 

And again: 

" 'I'he only thing for foreign nations to consider was the 
sitnple fint that the Republic of St. Domingo is positively 
independent, and entitled to be treated as such, whatever 
may Jiavc been the original rights or pretensions of Hayti." 

Nothing could be more distinct and satisfactory 
than this. Upon the same subject, and to show to 
the Department at home the propriety and neces- 
sity of intervention, Mr. Walsh writes to Mr. 
Webster in these words — this is official: 

"The contrast between the picture which is nowpre- 
pented by iliisirountry, and Hiat wlihdi it exhibited when 
under the dominion of the I'rench, affords a melancholy 
conlirmation of what I have said. It was then indeed an 
'exulting and abounding' land— a land literallv llowirig 
with milk and honey ; now, it might be alhrnied, withonl 
extravagance, that where it is not an arid and desolate 
waPte, it is Hooded wilhthe waters of bitterness, or covered 
with noisome and poisonous weedn. ' When I arrived 
here,' ii, <|M<j|e (he words of an intelligent foreigner who 
liaa been in Ilayii bIucc Uie epoch of il3 iiideptndencc, 



I ' there was abVndance of everything — now there is a want 
of everything. ' 'J'he cultivation of .sugar, which was once 
the main fountain of wealth, is now entirely abandoned, 
except for the production of an intoxicating drink ; and that 
of coffee has so much decreased, that it would not in the 
least be a matter of surprise if ere long the supply of that 
indisp(!nsable article for Haytian commerce, were to be 
insullieient for the ordinary consumption of the inhabitants 
themselves. 

" The government, in spite of it.«! constitutional forms, is 
a despotism of the most ignorant, corrupt, and vicious de- 
.scription, with a military establishment so enormous that, 
while it absorbs the largest portion of the revenue for its 
support, it dries iip the very sources of national prosperity, 
by depriving the fields of their necessary laborers to till 
the town with pestilent hordes of depraved and irreclaim- 
able idlers." 

And in further proof of the strong position taken 
by Mr. Walsh, with the approbation of the De- 
partment, witness this extract from an official 
letter: 

" I thought I might then try the effect of an argument 
which I took care to represent as wholly unofficial and pri- 
vate, my Government having no kno\vledge of it whatever, 
't'he day before I left Norlblk I was told by a friend that he 
had been offered a command in an expedition which waa 
I contemplated to go to St. Domingo and assist its inhabit- 
[ ants against the Hajtians. This fact I communicated to 
, the Minister with all plausible emphasis, dwelling upon the 
! perilous probability that should such an expedition ever 
land upon the island, all the miseries and horrors with 
which the Emperor was now threatening the Dominicans 
would be brought to his own door; that the desperadoes 
composing it would never rest until they had exhausted 
every effort to overwhelm the empire, and that even if they 
should fail in destroying it, the evils they would suffer 
would be almost equivalent to ruin. The only sure way, 
I added, to arrest the danger was to conclude a peace, and 
by thus de|)riving the expedition of the lawful motive of 
lending aid to a people whose independence was wrong- 
I fully assailed, it would become the duty of the United States 
j to prevent it from leaving their shores. 

"Tlie chord was one which seemed to vibrate more 
I strongly than any other, for the Government has been in 
I great dread of such an expedition ever since the attack 
upon Cuba." 

And again, from Mr. Walsh, as to the right to 
menace or use force: 

"The truth is, the big ship in the harbor is not a pleasant 
spectacle to his eyes, and the sending such a one just now, 
is a ceremony of which he would much prefer the breach 
to the observance. It is a pity the commodore cannot pro- 
tract his stay here, as the presence of the steamer would 
materially assist our negotiations, the logic of force being, I 
am afraid, the only kind which his government tlioroughly 
comprehends, or at least is disposed to respect." 

But as to the views of the Department of State 
of the national character of Hayti and the gov- 
ernment of Soulouque, the following to Mr. 
Walsh, from Mr. Webster, is conclusive: 

" It is presumed, however, that in process of time — and 
perhaps before long — if the Haytian government shall 
abandon its ambitious projects of foreign conijuest, shall 
devote its attention to the improvement of its own people, 
and shall succeed in that object, so as to command the re- 
spect of dispassionate and impartial men, no nation whose 
interests may dictate the measure will b(^■iitate to semi con- 
suls 10 their ports or to recognize Haytian consuls in their 
ports." 

Could anything be clearer.' The Government 
itself asserts the right to coerce the Haytian out- 
law, and refuses to recognize the absurd and mon- 
strous empire as one of the Powers of the earth, 
entitled to the respect or countenance of the civil- 
ized world. One other extract from Mr. Walsh's 
report, and the diplomatic history of this affair, as 
furnished by the Government, is finished. In it 

i is confessed the failure of the whole mission, and 

; the only honorable and nrianly course indicated. 

j It hits been, however, wholly disregarded: 

"That result can (udy be accomplished by coercing tlie 
Haytian government. All persuasion and argument are 
thrown away upmi it, all sense of duty and justice and 
right is merged by.it in sanguinary ambition and ferocious 

I vindictiveness. The Dominicans will listen to no terms 



wliicti do not establish their nulionnl (ovpreiRiily, which ' 

tlii'V have so \ong and no »iiccesHriilly dfffiidcd. 

" Tliev woiiUI prcler mini (■xlrniiiiiatiiiii, a^ tlicy dt-rlnre 
and us their coikIuci dt'iiionstraWH, to falhni; auaiii iiiidrr 
ihe alroeioun drsixitism which lliry hnvo ntiaki-ii urt ; And 
every considoiiitinrior iiitrrcsi, iit' jll^lll■u, of hiiiiiantly do 
ninnds tlint llicir IndriicMdciiru nhould bu pliicvd uii u gecurc 
and pcTiiiaiiont basiH." 

I will, however, Mr. Chairman, take a more 
comprehensive view of this i|iie8tioi). Has the 
United States a rii;ht to intervene for the jirotec- 
tion of Doniiiiii'a against Soulouqiie? The facts 
and princi])les which are necessary to prove tills 
riifht, are ol'ieii identical, and always connected 
with those which eslahlish the olilig;ation of the 
Goveniiiient to fori)id, anil at any hazard to pre- 
vent, tlie interference of any Kuropean Power, es- 
pecially France or EiiL'land, in tiie atfair. 
. Tlie concUision as to the policy of the Govern- 
Dient, wliich has conlenintil)ly failed in the asser- 
tion of the right, and which has, without any jus- 
tification or necessity, or any ^ood result, in fact 
violated the oMiyalion, is incvital)le. Ilefore go- 
ing into these facts, hefore j^ivini; a lirief account 
of the relations of the Island of Hayti to Europe 
and to ourselves, and its different parts to each 
other, and of the submission by this Ciovernment 
to the interference of France and Enir'aiid, it is 
v/ell to recur to and carry with us disiincily the 
rule of foreign policy, ami its reasons, which is 
called the Monroe doctrine. In the seventh mes- 
sage of Air. Monroe, thi.s clear and luminous ex- 
position of llie doctrine occurs: 

" It was stated at the cDmnionceinent of the last session , 
lliat a sri-at clTurt was ilien niaUiiii,' in Spain and Portuiial 
to improve tlie condition of tilt; people of Ihosc countries, 
and tiiat it appeared to be conducted with exiraordinary 
moderation. It neeil scarcely lie n.'iuarked that the re-uft 
has been, so far, very diflerenl from what was then antici- 
pated. Of Pvenis in that qiiarterof the globe, with which 
we have so much intercourse, and from which we derive our 
otijjiii. we have always been anxious and interested specta- 
tors. The citizens of the Unite*! .Slates cherish senii merits the 
most friendly in favor of the liberty ami happiness of their 
fellow-men on that side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the 
European Powers, in matters relatine to themselves, we 
have never t.tkeii any part, nor does it comport with our 
policy so 10 ilo. It is only when our rijrhts ure invaded or 
serioiisly menaced, that we resent injuries or make prepa- 
ration for our defense. With the movernenls in this hemis- 
phere we are ol nece.<sily mop' immediately connected, and 
by causes which must be obvious to all enlislileiied and Im- 
partial observers. The poliii<-al .system of the allied Pow- 
ers is essentially dilTereiit in this respect from that of .Vineri- 
ca. This diiVcrenee proceeds from that wliich exists in 
tJieir respective tjfivernments. Audio the defense of our 
own, wliK-h has been achieved by tin; loss of.-o much blood 
and tre:isure, and inatiin-d by the wisdom of their most eii- 
li<;hlened eitizcns, and under which we have piijoved un- 
exampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted. We owe 
it, tlierelbre, to candor, and to Ihe amicable relalion.s exislinc 
hetween llie Uiiiled Slates and those Powers, to declare that 
we should con-ider any altenipt on their part to extend their 
system to any portion of this heinisphere as dancerons to 
our peace and safety. With the exi^tini? colonies and de- 
pendencies of any European Power we have not iiitert'ered 
and .-hall not interfere. Hut with the povernmento who 
have (h'clari'd their independence and mainiained it, and 
whose iMileppiidence we have, on great considerations and 
on just priiiciples,acknowledeed, we could not view any in- 
terposition for the purpose of oppressinj them, or control- 
linj^ ill any other manner their destiny, by a European Power 
in any other li^ht than as the manifestation of an iinlViendly 
disposition towards the ITiiiled Stales. In the war between 
those new coverninenls and .Sp.iiii, we declared our neu- 
trality at the time of their recocnition, and to this we have 
adhered, and siiall continue to adhere, provided no chaiiac 
shall occur, which, in the jud!.nnent of llie competent au- 
thorities of this Uoverumeiit. shall make a eorrespondiiii: 
Change, on the part of the United Slates, indispcnsal'lc to 
their security. 

"The late events in Spain and Poitiieal show that Europe 
is still unsettled. <"lf this important fact no stronser proof 
can he adilueed than that tlie allied Powers should have 
thoii<;ht it proper, on any principle satisfactory to ihcin--elves, 
to Ija've interposed by I'orce iullieiuternalcouccrnsof Spaiu. 



' To Whn' •••• ■■■•'■ '-• ■■• -: r '■- -1 ' — "-^ 

naini- 

Pnw.f 

even II 

I'lilird Slalan. < m, 
adnpied HI nn enils 
nulliilrdlhiil iiuartri 
(•nine, which la, iioi 
ony of lit I'liwrrii ; • 

Ihe letUlinale (iiiv. 

Ititloiiii Willi II, anil t 

llriii, and inniily ih.I< ' 

claiinii of every I'mv . 

lint, in regaril |o Iho.e ••. , ,„,. 

neiilly and con>,picuoii>lv . ih«| 

the allied Power^Bliiiiild ei: ,t>v 

portion of either continent wiile.. 

and linppinegH : nor eiin tiny oie- ' 

brethren, if left in tliniliM'|\r<, u 

accord. It is ecju-illy tnipo«i,|li|i'. 

Iiifhold Hiirh iiiterpoaition, in an. 

If wi- hiok to the eompnralive ^u 

Spain mid tlio.,e in'W governiiicult, an.l : 

each iillier, II mUKt be obMnim ||inl i>h< 

them. 1 1 IS still the true jHilicyof the t'r 

the partu s to themselveM, in the hope that utliLr I'uv. <.it » ul 

piiriiiie the KameeourHe," 

In the Muhseqiient or eii^hth nnnual mtninxgt of 
the same PreKidenl, (Mr. Monme,) he n<;'tm al> 
ludcd to the conteat between .Spain niid her colo- 
nies; said that the latter had fully achieved their in- 
dependence, and that said independence had been 
reco2;iii/.ed by the Fiiited States. He then ad- 
' verted to the European I^iwei^^said tlini it wa« 
, " the interest of the United .StntM to pre-^erve the 
I ' most friendly relaiiuna with them, but that with 
I •regard to our neischbors, the republic* of South 

• America, our situation was different. It waa 
! ' impossible for llie European Ciovernrnenla to in- 

* terfere in their concerns without aiVeciinK us. 
I ' Indeed, the motive which might induce hucK id- 
I ' terference would appear to be equally applicable to 

' us;" and he added tli.it " it was gruiifying to 
' know that some of the Powers with whom we en- 
'jo\ed a very tViendly intercourse, and to whom 
' these views had been communicated, had ap- 

i ' peared to acquiesce in them." 

I In this statement it will be observed that all in- 
tervention between the Governments of this hemis- 

' phere by the Powers of Europe, for whatever 
purpose, whether " i/yi;>nr5siii^ llirm or controllinic 
in any oliitr munntr their lUstinu," is dedartd to be 
•'//le mnii(/f3/n/ion of nn unjiitnJly dispctition to- 

, irarJs tlie Uniled Slates." The purpose for which 
the intervention mi;:ht be made does not rhnnKe 
the dansjeroiis and hoetile character of the act ; and 
the reason is obvious, and our late ex[«rience 
gives it additional force. If once they are permitted 
to interfere, protectorates, and coneequent ucqaisi- 
tions and fortifications of strontj points, for the 
elfectual proiecjion of such wards, would render 
the State so pr()tectcd and occupied, the mere crea- 
ture and victim of the stronger power, ajid would 
lead by a thousand pretexts which everybiMly but 
Mr. Fillmore can see at once, to the inlroduelion 
of the European system into the continent, vhich 
is inconsistent with our safety. How ' "- ■' 
every infraction of this principle is, t. 
by tlie late overtures fir a irip.irtite tr> . ^ ' 
would have l)ound us in ell time from tlie uc.iuibi- 
tion of Cuba, and which has even awnkeneJ the 
Executive. This fifler, so promptly rejec i« d, was, 
however, a coroll.iry, a necessary con.tequence of 
the tripartite mediation in Hayti, and the admis- 
sion in Honduras, and along ilie Mosquito coast, 
of the claims of England. 

The offer on the part of France and Rneiand to 
make a treaty stipulatioff for the eternal separation 

. of Cuba from the United Slates does not equtil m 



r- 



8 



insolence either of the two encroachments which 
we have not only submitted to but invited. To 
what depth of degradation — to what sacrifice of 
pride, honor, and power — to what extreme of hu- 
mihating subserviency to Europe we would have 
insensibly gone, I forbear to conjecture. We have 
gone far enough, however, to prove that the only 
safety is in the rigid observance of the Monroe 
doctrine which is contained in one line: Non-in- 
terference on the part of European Powers with 
the independent governments of the New World. 
That tliis doctrine should have been enforced with 
jealous precision against France and England in 
the Island of Hayti by the United States is made 
more apparent by the fact that each of these Pow- 
ers has guarded against interference by the other, 
and that the United States alone has been indiller- 
ent to the progress of either in the island. The 
joint mediation met the views of both those Pow- , 
ers, as it gave to them a controlling majority in any ' 
negotiations which might be entered into. And 
that there could have existed no adequate motive 
for accepting or tolerating the joint interference of 
those Powers is demonstrated by the fact, that that 
connection with us did not influence Soulouque in 
any degree, but that the joint mediation was as 
ludicrously impotent as our sole attempt could by i 
possibility have been. ! 

By the treaty of Ryswick, 1697, Spain ceded to [ 
France the western one third of the Island of San i 
Domingo, retaining the eastern two thirds. The i 
black population of the western or French portion 1 
of the island in 1790 massacred the whites, and 
became independent of France. The blacks of 
the east or Spanish division did not join in this re- 
bellion. In the same year the Spanish part of the \ 
island was ceded by Spain to France, and remained ; 
in her possession till 1808, when the English aided 
the Creoles to throw off the control of France, and 
the territory was confirmed to Spain in 1815 by 
the treaty of Paris, and was governed as a Spanish 
province till 1821 . In 1822, Dominica, with a view 
to connect herself with the Colombian republic, 
revolted from Spain. This jiurpose was never 
carried into effect; but Spain was unable to attempt 
even its subjugation, and has never to this day re- 
asserted her claim. On the contrary, she has 
openly acknowledged their independence by de- 
manding, in 18.30, from Hayti an indemnity for its 
loss, and also by receiving and treating with the 
Dominican commissioner in 1847 for the acknowl- 
edgment of the republic then established in the 
east. 

In February, 1822, Boyer, the chief of the west 
or negro part of the island, the now Empire of 
Hayti, invaded the east with a force which was 
iiTesistihle by the Dominicans. The provisional 
authorities were compelled to submit, and the ter- 
ritory was incorporated with the Haytinn repub- 
lic. It is not necessary to my present ]iurpose to 
recount all the atrocities practiced by Boyer on 
the Dominicans. It is enough that his adminis- 
tration was so intolerable, not only to the Domi- 
nicans, but to the Ilaytians, that he was driven 
from power and from the country in the year 184.']. 
Riviere, who overthrew and succeeded Boyer, was 
more ferocious toward the Dominicans than his 
predecessor. It is true that Dominica sent her 
representative to the conventiim held at Port au 
Prince, in 184.'!, to remodel (he constitution. In 
the first business before the convenli(jn, the diffi- 
culty arose which led to the establishment of a 
separate republic in Dominion. This was the 
basis on which the union (if any union was to be 



between the west and the east) should be estab- 
lished. The Dominican delegates insisted, as a 
fundamental provision, upon the protection and 
encouragement of white immigration. It was re- 
fused by the Haytian representatives. Upon this 
the Dominicans declared themselves independent 
of Hayti, in a manifesto published IClh of Janu- 
ary, 1844. In the war which immediately fol- 
lowed, the Dominicans beat the Haytians in sev- 
eral actions, and have maintained themselves in 
this inde[)endence ever since. In November, 
1844, the constitution, modeled after our own, 
was proclaimed. 

The two successors of Riviere — Guerrier and 
Richc — made no serious attempt against Dominica. 
But Soulouque who succeeded , has exhausted every 
means in his power to annoy or to reconquer the 
country, and has publicly declared his intention to 
exterminate the whites from the island. Shortly 
after the establishment of the Dominican republic, 
commissioners were sent to this place to aslc its rec- 
ognition. Had they not aright to ask it? No claim 
to sovereignty had been advanced by any Euro- 
pean Power for more than twenty years. They 
had, driven by a tyranny unexampled, thrown off 
the connection, forced in the first place with Hayti, 
and were in fact and of right independent. The 
leading ground of difference between them and 
Hayti, white immigration, should have command- 
ed our sympathies; and the doom of extermination 
pronounced against them, gave them a right to 
protection on the grounds of common humanity. 
On the arrival of these commissioners, Mr. Calhoun 
was in the Department of State. The large and 
comprehensive mind of that great statesman, ap- 
preciated at once the importance of the interests 
involved, and he sent out a special agent to exam- 
ine carefully and report on the affairs of the island. 
Before the report was made, or at least before it 
was acted on, Mr. Calhoun retired from the De- 
partment of State. Mr. Buchanan, who succeeded 
Mr. Calhoun, sent another special agent. Lieuten- 
ant Porter, who made a long, and I think, an able 
report, which was never acted upon, owing to the 
excitement and absorbing interest of the Mexican 
war, which was just then being commenced, and 
the events which followed it. This is, however, 
but an imperfect excuse for a most serious fault. 

In 1849, just at the accession of General Taylor, 
Soulouque made the most formidable attack upon 
Dominica which it had sustained. Fie reached 
within two days' march of Santo Domingo city, 
and with a force apparently irresistible. The in- 
difference and neglect of the United States had ex- 
tinguished all hope of interposition on our part, 
and in despair the Dominicans ajiiilied for a French 
protectorate. This would have been accepted by 
France at once, and the Bay of Sanian;i (a point 
of more importance than Flavana, and which, it is 
rumored, she has at last taken possession of) ceded 
to her — the island, in fact, would have become her 
property, but for the interference of the British 
Minister, whogavenotice that Great Britain would 
not consent to it. The correspondence on this 
subject, cojiied from the archives in Santo Do- 
mingo, is now in this city, and in possession of 
the gentleman afterwards sent out by Mr. Clayton 
as special agent to Dominica. Whether this would 
have been submitted to or not by the United States, 
it is iinjiossible to say; but it was by no action on 
the part of our representative at home or abroad 
that it was prevented. 

After the invasion of Soulouque, which was 
defeated _by the exertions of the Dominicans, 



thoufifh made more fonnidalileby domeHiu- ir<i\«(>n 
anil foreign iiUriijiif, Mr. Clayimi, then Se<-ri'inry 
of Stale, .sent, ns had grown to be n lialjit, i\ itpe- 
cial agent to Dominica. I liave had acresa to the 
reports ntxi papers of tliis gentleman, «i> fnr b8 
they could with propriety he communirated. 
Upon lii.s arrival petitions and addre.sses from all 
parts of the Rcpulijic. came ti> General Santa 
Anna and the President of the Repul>lir, urging a 
retraction of the oilers to France and opposing 
the French connection, and advocating annexa- 
tion to or protection from the United Stales. An 
application ^as made to the agent, and hy liim 
forwarded to the Government here, praying for 
inferveiilioii by the United States for the pacifica- 
tion of the country. This a[iplicalion was for- 
warded by him along with a report, which set 
forth additional reasons, of the most conclusive 
character, why it .should be favorai)ly considered, 
njid then, if not before, the authorities here should 
have become fully aware <if the intrigues which 
both France and England (the jnint meiliators) 
had kept on foot for the acquisition of some hold 
in the island, and o<" the most fatal ellect upon our 
interest. I shall give a short synopsis of the re- 
pcrt, and then a short history of the diplomacy 
of those i"'owera in Hayti. And I think it must 
be clear to every mind, that whatever might have 
been decided as to our own intervention, or the 
extent and character of it, nothing but criminal 
carelessness or infatuated ami predestinated stu- , 
pidity could fail to recognize the necessity for ex- 
cluding France and England from any share in 
the matter or any the least control over our free 
action. i 

The report urges that the duty and interest of! 
the United States was to intervene, for the reasons 
which I have before given, and which were, sub- 
sequently assigned as the causes of the join? me- 
diation, and goes on to urge further, that the war 
was one of extermination and for conquest, and 
that it involved the very existence of the white 
race in the island; that the Haytian con.«titution 
declared as a first principle " that no white of any 
nation should place his foot upon the soil with the 
title of proprietor," and that the Dominicans in- 
vited white immigration by erants of land and the 
privileges of citizenship; that our commerce suf- 
fered from the war, and that our citizens were en- 
dangered, and our property lawlessly seized by 
the barbarians of Hayti in the prosecution of the 
war; that acts of plunder and piracy to the amount 
of many hundreds of thousands of dollars had 
been committed against our citizens, as is proven 
by Mr. Webster's Report, House Doc, m Sess. 
'2~i\i Coiieress. The report further ursed the fact 
upon our Government, that England and France 
coveted Samana, and that the Dominicans would 
be forced to cede it to one or the other, in consid- 
eration of protection which they had vainly sought 
from us. it was urged that France had never re- 
linqui.^hed her designs to recover the island, and 
that Enirland had always been, and was then, 
engocred in eflorts to acquire the control of the 
island. The Government was by this report put 
in the possession of this additional fact — that the 
Consul General and Minister Plenipotentiary, 
Sir R. Schnmburgh, as soon as lie discovered that 
an applic;ition was made for the mediation of the 
United States, had ofl'ered and urged the media- 
tion of England, which was not accepted. The 
Dominicans did not trust the English Government, 
but better informed, and conseauently more pru- 
dent than the United States, reared the known 



policy of Ort-nt Rritnin on ihi- n lie- 

tweni the rncpM, nnd did ih.i • ah* 

w<Mild Hiipport them in f" I ■ ' r 

doulile rljtim of Soulouqur ' , 

negro and an eniprror. Di.i., 

by many yentB of obmrvntioii, thai il \ t 

of the policy of (irpiii llriinin lo ■.( 
white republic i.i •' ' ' , ' ■ " > 

were to acquire : 

The mtdiuimn "I I ... , j 

by Schomburpli wilh nurh enrr 
DominicunHdnreil noJongfrrefVi ■ 
and iheAmcriaui n:;eiii wnii roi 
thorities on the subject. Thr 1 1 ; 

not, however, agree to it, unlrxN n ,* 
understood that the United StBi«^ <■■ 
were to be joint me<iintor«, nnd with 
distinct avowal thai tlie rail for jouit ii.F<ii.tUoii 
was in the alternative, nnd nhouM be innde onljr 
on condition that the I'tiiied Sta'. ' ' ■.) in- 
tervene alone. This report, ai. ' •< rtti 
the part of Domiiiirn, were met I ;. ' ■ I'ny- 
lor's ndministralion, so fnr nn lo imtiruri their 
agent to give notice to Soulouque thn) iliia frnvern- 
nient would not view with indilfi i • :re«- 
sion on Dominica, at least whih wna 

indebted to the United Stales. 1 l had 

the efl'ect to suspend for a iim« an invanion which 
Soulouque was preparing in 1850. 

Mr. Hulwer now gave notice of the rendnifiwi of 
his Government to enter into the joint metli ition, 
and the Administration replied, tlmt upon the re- 
turn of their special agent, they would give a de- 
finitive answer. Tlie reputation of Mr. ("Inyioo 
is, however, free from the stain of this dis^frace. 
Nothing was, in fact, done by him. General 
Taylordied while the alT/»ir was j^ending, nnd Mr. 
Webster took charge of the De(>nr!uieut of State. 
It is worth remark, and should be borne in mind, 
that after the departure of this special agent from 
Santo Domint;o, no treaty being ronchided for the 
safety of Dominica, but everylhine left an it haj 
always been, and still is, open nnd uii'<f'.t!ed, the 
agents of France, and also of Ei>"' "■' • • '"rsed 
the propositions of Soulouque to th . and 

endeavored to induce its authoriti> • . his 

demands. This is conclu.iive eviden t iluu neither 
of those Powers were acting in good faith with ua, 
or Dominica, and, taken in con.iection with «he 
fact that the mediation wholly and sliiineftilly 
failed of its purpose, and that the ihrea;s of 1I10 
three greatest Powers of the earth did not alarm 
a barbarian who wa« unable to have r*>«ii«t«Hl, for 
one moment, the attack of either "' ' ' 

those threats were not carried out 
him, when he met fully the ver\- 
which they were uttered — it is mo; 
incredible, on any principleof hui^ ; 

the majfirity of them could have betn i ' 1 .; in 
jond faith. This Administration, however, repliej 
to Mr. Hulwer, by tlieap|H)ii)lment of .Mr. NS'aUh; 
the joint mediation wa.s entered intb. I';\ < rythini; 
which our interest nnd dutydictnt<d tailed, and 
the two Powers had the triumpli of leavm;; mntters 
open for their future action, with this in'-alruhibl* 
advantnire gained, an admission by the United 
States of the right of Eurojieiui I'owers lo interfere 
in tlie atTiiirs of independent Govermnents in ihiM 
hemispliere, and a thorough and well uieriiid con- 
tempt felt for us and our arms and diplomacy in 
those Governments, which should trust us ns im- 
plicitly ns they should profiuindly respect us. I 
shall leave this branch of the subiect, wilh thia 
extract from the official ofgan of the Dominican 



10 



governnieMt. I take it from the New York Her- 
ald, February 26th, which translates from the 
Gaceta do Gobierno, of January 25lh: 

'' We were surprised," says llie Doiiiiiiicnii official or- 
gRn, " when we read, in the message of the President of 
Uie United States to Congress, of the settlement ot" peace 
between the Doiiiinicnn republic and thai part of the west 
called Uie Haytian empire. Tlii^ false report, communica- 
ted to that Government by an unfaithful persr)ii, precisely 
when SoiilMU<|ue was callinjr under arms a numerous army 
atJuana Mendez, in order to invade our territory, isiiiiihly 
alarmin-;, for these falsehoods can afleet us in oilier coun- 
tries which are iriendly to our republic. They wish to di- 
vert llie attention of other nations from the uiiri^'hteous 
umchinalioris against our independence. For that reason, 
we positively repeat, that till now the Powers who wished 
to settle that ([uestion, with the desire of avoidins blood- 
shed in a disastrous war, have not agreed on the atl'air." 

Tlie same spirit which lias conducted our nego- 
tiations in Hnyti has guided our policy in Nicara- 
gua, and to the same or even worse results. The 
state of things existing at the present moment, 
produced l>y the sagacity and courage of this Ad- 
ministration, and the one which immediately pre- 
ceded, may be stated in a few words. The terri- 
torial rights of the republic of Nicaragua are in 
fact sacrificed by the construction of the treaty 
made to protect those very rights, and this Ad- 
ministration has become a party to the dismem- 
bennenl of that republic. The aboriginal tribe 
of jMosquitos are recognized as having the sov- 
ereignty over an indefinite extent of territory 
which has belonged to Spain since tiie discovery i 
of the continent, or to tlie States which have been ' 
formed from her colonies. Islands in the Bay of 
Honduras, which belonged to that republic, have 
passed, without protest or objection, into the ab- 
solute possession of Great Britain, in direct viola- 
tion of treaty stipulations, and the principle which [ 
binds us to the protection froin European aggres- 
sion of all the independent States of this conti- 
nent. All this has happened, too, in violation of 
repeated pledges made by this Government. It is 
not necessary to trace minutely the history of our 
relations with Central Jlmtrica — political Central 
America-— before the year 1848. In that year, the 
stibject of inter-oceanic communication becarne of 
vital and immediate importance; and from that 
time the series of measures which have tenninated 
in the disgrace of the American name began. 
Much earlier, however, as early as 1825, the sub- 
ject was agitated, and correspondence was had be- 
tween the governments of Central America and : 
the United Slates on the subject, which is instruct- ■ 
ive. The Minister of that' Government wrote to 
Henry Clay, then Secretary of State, asking the , 
cooperation of the United States in a treaty for the , 
secure establishment of a transit route, and giving 
the United States preference over other Powers, on 
the gi-ound that its "noble conduct had been a 
model and protection to all the Americas." In- 
structions were accordingly given to our Chai-ge 
d'Affaires to assure the Government of our deep 
interest in the subject, and to investigate the matter | 
and report upofl it. This was not done; but the 
same eflbrts were renewed in many instances by j 
Central America, and afterwards by the separate 
States which had composed it. 

I shall pass, however, over all that, and come 
as hastily as possible to the negotiations which 
immediately preceded the Clayton and Bulwer 
treaty, and which are necessary to a full compre- 
hension of the iiresente!-tai)Iished policy. In 1847, 
tlie refiublic of Nicaragua, feeling itself eiidanj,^ered 
by the aggressions of the British, and alarmed at 
the fatal doctrines a.sserted by that Government 
in regard to the rights (ff the Moscjuito kingdom, 



I appealed to the United States for protection, on 
these grounds: 

[ " The United States is the natural protector of all the re- 
publican States of the continent, the center of the liopes of 
the American cause. Nicaragua, who derived its first im- 
pulses from you, and is animated by your example, doubts 
not that her representations will be received on a subject 
which threatens her institutions and independence, iind 
alfects the interests of all the American iei)ublic3." 

Mr. Buchanan, to whom this letter was ad- 
dressed, did not reply to it at all; but subsequently, 
after the same application was repeated, and the 
English had actually seized the port of San Juan, 
he sent out Mr. Hise to negotiate. Mr. Rise did 
not return till after General Taylor was inaugu- 
rated, when he came with a treaty, the leading 
features of which I shall give by extracting its 
most important provisions. 

The instructions of Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Hise 
assert in boli and true terms the rights of the 
United States and the motives of England; and 
for their most lame and impotent conclusion, I 
confess myself at a loss to account. I give those 
clauses which contain the substance and meaning 
of the whole. He says: 

"The object of Great Britain in this seizure is evident 
iVoni the policy which she has uniformly pursued through- 
out her history, of seizing upon every valuable commercial 
point in the world, whenever circumstances have placed it 
in her power. Her purpose, probably, is to obtain the con- 
trol of the route for a railroad and canal between the Atlantic 
and Pacific oceans by way of Lake Nicaragua." 

He also insists on the policy " of excluding all 
interference on the part of European governments 
in the domestic affairsof the American repuljlics." 
He asserts the wrong of Britain, and denies their 
claims, but says, in conclusion, that "the Govern- 
ment of the United States has not yet determined 
what course it will pursue in regard to the en- 
croachments of the British Government." So 
instrficted, Mr. Hise, not perhaps pursuant to 
instructions, but under the impulse of genuine 
American feelings, and impressed with the dan- 
gerous character of the intrigues of the agents and 
representatives of Great Britain, particularly at 
and about San Juan, concluded a convention with 
Commissioners of Nicaragua, with the following 
provisions: 

1st. That the United States should enjoy the 
perpetual right of way through the territories of 
Nicaragua by any means of conveyance then 
existing, or which thereafter might be devised. 

2d. That the United States, or a company char- 
tered by it, might construct a railroad or canal 
from one ocean to the other, and occupy such 
lands, and use such natural materials and prod- 
ucts of the cwuntry as might be necessary for the 
purpose. 

3d. That the United States should have the 
right to erect such forts on the line or at the ex- 
tremities of the proposed work as might be deemed 
necessary or proper for its protection. 

4th. That the vessels and citizens of all nations 
at peace with both contracting Powers might pass 
freely through the canal. 

5ih. Tliat a section of land two leagues square 
at either termination should be set apart to serve 
as the sites of two free cities under the protection 
of both Governments, the inhabitants of which 
should enjoy complete municipal and religious 
freedom, trial by jury, exemption from all mili- 
tary duty, and from taxation, &c., &r. 

In consideration of these privileges the United 
States were to be bound to defend and protect the 
territorial rights of Nicaragua, to preserve the 
peace and neutrality of her coasts, and some other 



11 



provisions not relevfint to the mntter in lumd. Be- 
fore Mr. Hise lind (•(inclwilcd tliis convciiliuii the 
Administration wliicli sciii him had tcone out, and 
General Tnylor was iiiaug;uruted. Mr. Mi.se wa.s 
recalled, and Mr. >S(|iiier sent in hi.s Htead, with 
instructions from Mr. Clayton, whi<-li I .sliall lay 
before the committee. Tlii.s treaty of Mr. Ili.se, 
which certainly contains matter worth coriNider- 
ation, was suiipressed hy the Taylor ndminisiru- 
tion, on the f;ri>niid th.it it was completed after the 
date of his letter of recall, and that it exceeded his 
instructions. The verv truth is, it was siijipressed 
becausf it toidc the American •jtoiind, and would 
have brought us by possibility in contact with 
England, which was then asserting new and most 
extraordinary projiositions. We will see wimt 
those propositions were, and how tlicy were met 
by Mr. Clayton, and by his successor. Mr. Man- 
ning, Vice Consul at Niairagua, writes to Lord 



Palmerston in April, 1849: 

" My opiiiinii, il'your lorilship will allow mo to express it, ' 
as rP!;;ir(U tlii.s coimiry, Iit tlin |ire.--riit is, tliat it xvill tn: 
overrun My .\incrii-iui iuivonliirers, und (•(nisciiiifiiily lirlii:; 
on her Miiji-sty's Uuverniiiciit dis.igreeiilili' coiniaunicii' 
lions Willi tlie United Slates, wtiicli possibly niiulit tic 
avoided by an iiniiiediate nogoiiiition witti .Mr. On.<lflloii for 
a protectorate and transit Invorabli; to British int'-ri.'st.-'. 
The wi-ll'are ol" my country, and the desire ol" its nhtainiiii; 
the control of so desirable a spot in the coMiinercinI world, 
and free it from the ciiiiipclitioii of so ndvenlnrous a race lu 
tlie North .Americans, induce me to address your lordship 
with such freedom." 

And Lord Palmerston, in a letter addressed to I 
all the British agents in Central America, asking 
information as to the boundaries of the Mosquito 
kingdom, says: "You will also report what in ' 
' your opinion is the line of boundary which her 
' Majesty 's Government should iiisi's/ ujwn as abso- 
' luiely essential for the security and well-being of 
' the Mosquito shore;" and without waiting for a 
reply, says, in a circular letter to the representa- 
tives of his Government, that "the right of the 
' King of Mosquito should be maintained as ex- 
' tending tVom Cape Honduras down to the mouth 
' of the river San Juan." The answer of Chat- 
field, the English /(ic.'o/itfii in Central America, im- 
proves on Lord Palmerston 's e.xagijerated claim, 
and says that the Mosquito boundary should pass 
the river San Juan and reach even to Chagres; be- 
cause, he says, " looking to the probable desti- j 
' nies of these countries, consideraole advantages 
' might accrue in after times by reserving the rights 
' of Mosquito beyond the river San Juan," and 
suggests, as Manning liad done, an " early asser- 
tion" of these claims. 

The actual seizure witli armed force of the port 
of San Juan, the only terminus of the inter-oceanic 
communicaiion on the Atlantic side, under pretext 
of the rii^htof the Mosquito King, and the knowl- 
edge of liie schemes and designs revealed by tlie 
above extracts, prompted Mr. Hise to make the 
effort to conclude his proposed treaty. In the fear 
of England, but under the pretexts of want of 
authority, the administration of General Taylor 
would not even submit the convention to the Sen- 
ate, and withheld it from the Senate on a call lor it, 
as appears from Senate Journal, February l.?th, 
1850. However, General Taylor did what Mr. 
Buchanan had so singularly omitted to do. He an- 
swered to the applications which the Nicara^uan 
republic had addressed to this for protection 
against English encroachment, and says, after a 
recognition of the correctness of the positions 
taken by the Nicaraguan government, that " the 
representations of Nicaragua had been received 
with lively and painful interest," and that the 



' United State* would roSnernI* to " vindimle her 
jiiHl territorial rif^hin, nnd ne.urc her pr i< p and 
proHperuv." .'\iKurnn<:ej( to tiie Mime purpime 
weremadeby .Mr.Clnylon. IIow hnvelhejr bctn 
redienu-d by hiin or hiN nurceniior? 

Mr.Sipiirrre. tived iimirurtiviiB frorii '.' ' 
ton, from wlinli m.iy I'r gntliered hiN • 
make n treaty with Ni.nrnguii, not wl 
Niatent with nur iiitereMin nnd the pron. 

' made. Unfortuniitely, however, the ti. 
pursuant to thoue inMiruciiona wim MU(ipft„»fd Ly 
Mr. Webnter. And more unfortunntelv mill,. Mr. 
Clayton made a treaty wuh Km-! ' ' , un- 

der the conairuction given by III . sur- 

rendered the very riglii« it wan in-. tect, 

and was fatal to the treaty negotiated oy hia own 
agent, under his own inHtruclioiiH. Mr. Clnylon 
says, after a maHterly and conrluMive arsurnent 
against the rigiit of the EnyliHh under the Mos- 
quito King: 

" It is manlf.-t, indcpd. Ihnt the righK rinlnipil lijr Great 
llrilaiii iioiMirinlly in ln'hnlf of the .Nfi»r|iilif> K •nr. hm rfnllv 
nn luT own, are luuiiilril ill reix-atnl i 
U'liipnlioiis were rrp.-ntc.lly nnd miI, i 
and r^lllll|Ui^hl■d by hi-r dnrinir iIm' ■[•■i- 
tlii-.'\ni)Ticnni-oiiiini'nt. .<iiu'<' t: •'■ ' 
those claims roiitil h:tvi-had no i... 
tliun the siippOTil wcakni'<s or n 

nu'lits iiivrstrd with Ihe rifflil* ol .•-,,,,,, ,,, i, i- ,, , ,. ,. _ 
Inslriiitiou^ of John .V. Clr.yton, StcrrlaTi, o/ Hlole, to 
Mr. Sijuier, Ex. hoc. 75, 3li( OoHg., Ut Sf»i. 

And asjaiii, giving hia own viewi of the Clay- 
ton and Biilwer treaty: 

" We have never acknowledKcd, *kp tr.vrn r»r« *<:- 
Kxowi.KDiiK the cxintmce of any cinini of »<>v<-r<'i|aly in 
the .Mosquito Kinji, or any other Iiidinn in .\miTii-B. 7b 
do !0 K-ould he to deny the title of th<- l.'nilrJ Sl.iln to Ker 
own terrUorii. Having alwayn regaid' d the Indian tille a« 
a mere right of occiipaney. we thn never agree ilmt nurh a 
tille should ever be treated otherwise Ih.-in a« a tliii< to ht 
c.rtiniuLhrd at tlic u-illof Ihe discocerer of the country. 
Tpon Ihe raiiliealion of the treniy. (the C'la>l(in and Ilul- 
wcr treaty,) (jreat Uritiiin will no longer have any ialrrrtl 
to deiiv liiis principle, wliieli she has rreogiuzed in every 
other ca.-e in common with us. Ilrr proteeior.ite will be 
reduced to a shadow, ^^ Stat tiominis umhru," (»r the cun 
luilli'-r occupy, fortify, or colonize, nor eierei'<e doniinloa 
or rontrol in any part of the .Mosiimto ena«t, or Cenlral 
America. To attempt to do ellherof thi-xe Ihingn, after the 
exehniigc of rati.'icalions, would ineviial)ly (inxluce a rup- 
ture with the Ciiitcd Slates. I!y the terins of the Irtair 
neither parly can protect to orcupf, nor ">ccupy to protect.*' 

Mr. Clayton further instructs Mr. Squier: 
" We are willing to enter into treaty siipulationji with the 
government of \ieiir:igiia that Imlh (lovernmeuts shall pro- 
lert and defeiiil tlie prnprii'tors who may nuecred in rutting 
llie canal, and oiMiiing water communicalions between llic 
two oceans. .All appreheiision.s may, and will be reniored 
by tlie solemn pledge of protection given by tli>- I'nited 
States, and ispeoially \\1ien it is known tliit "ur .bjecl in 
giving it. is not to ae>|uiri> tor oursrlv. \i- or 

partial ailvanlage over oilirr natioim. \ Oc at 

liberty to enUr into ihe uniiie treaty si i, nli any 

other nation that maycUiiii to enjoy the moi!' L :i> Ills, and 
wiltacTce to beliound ly the same conditioiu." 

And yet again Mr. Clayton says as to bound- 
aries — and in utter exclusion of the £nglis!i Mos- 
quito claim: 

" Against the aegrexsions on her territory, \i.nn::iia ha» 
liiinly struggled — and prc)t.?|pd without e«a-iii.'. and the 
feelings oflier people may bi' judged from \'.,<- ini;M«-ione4 
language of (lie proelainalion of her .'^upreiin' Dn talor. No 
veinber 1211), ISj.". Ttie iiiomi-nl [nays lie] ha-i arrived for 
losing a eorintry with Ignominy, or for saeritiemg the 
dearest treasures to pre.serve it. A« reg.iriN myseli', if the 
power which nnnaees sets aside ju>iice, I am (irnily r"- 
solved to be entombed in the rcioains of Nicaragua, rattier 
than survive its ruin." 

The eloquent appeal of the Minister of Nicar- 
agua to his govewiment, is evidence not less stri- 
king than impressive of the di.sposition of an in- 
jured people to resist what they believe to be in- 
justice and oppression. Will other nations inter- 



12 



ested in a free passage to and from the Pacific ocean 
by the way of the river San Juan and Lalce Nicar- 
agua, tamely allow that interest to be thwarted by 
such pretensions? Meaning of the Mosquito pro- 
tectorate of Great Britain! ".'Is it regards the 
United Stales, this question may be confidently an- 
stcei-ed in the neglttive." 

Now, if all this means anything;, it means to 
say that Nicaragua has a right to the line of pro- 
posed inter-oceanic communication, including the 
port of San Juan; and that we will protectthis 
right, if she gives us the right of way — every line. 
The mere fact of treating with her about the matter, 
acknowledges her right. The instructions to Mr. 
Squier, provide that Nicaragua shall only "enter 
into treaty stijjulations xcith other nations that may 
claim to enjoy the samt benefit, and will agree to be 
bound by the same conditions." 

This very condition of the treaty with Nicar- 
agua, forces England either "to be bound by the 
same conditions," t\n acknowledgment of the right 
of Nicaragua to the port of San Juan, or it cuts her 
ofi' from the equal enjoyment " of the some benefits" 
of the transit route. Pursuant to these instruc- 
tions, Mr. Sqnier made a treaty with Nicaragua, 
carrying out their spirit and intention, fully and 
fairly. I cannot give the treaty in full, but the 
following clause shows its character: 

Akt. 38. "It is expressly stipulated that the citizens, 
vessels, products, and manufactures of all naUoiis, shall be 
pemiilted to pass upon the proposed canal, tludiisli the torri 
tories of Nicaragua, subject to no other, nor hi^rlicr duties, 
charges or taxes, than shall be imposed upon those of the 
United States: Provided always, That such, nations shall 
first enter into the same treaty stipulations and guarantees 
re^jiectin; said canal, as may be entered into helwetii ilie 
State of Nicaragua and tfie United States." 

The same provision is made in the treaty of 
commerce, negotiated at the same time. The 
right of way was granted by Nicaragua to Amer- 
ican citizens: and this treaty, as is obvious, would 
bring all nations into league against England, if 
she refused to make the same. Had this treaty 
been adopted, Nicaragua would have been secured 
according to her prayer to us, and our solemn 

Jiledges to her, against the encroaclimfents of Eng- 
and. 

Of course England opposed this treaty in Nicar- 
agua, by every art, which I have not space here to 
expose. She failed; and as far as Nicaragua was 
concerned, the treaty was made 23d September, 
1849. It was sent home, approved by General 
Taylor, and submitted to the Senate. It was 
never acted upon. The death of General Taylor ! 
placed our foreign relations in other hands than 
those of Mr. Clayton, and gave the English Gov- 
ernment the power it would probably not other- 
wise have had, to turn against us those very acts 
of Mr. Clayton, wliich, if unwise in the last de- 
gree, wanted yet the action of Mr. Fillmore and 
his Cabinet, to become altogether disgraceful. 

Mr. Clayton, pending the negotiations above 
alluded to with Nicaragua, and no doubt, as he 
has often declared, for the purpose of concluding 
forever the I)riti.sh claims, of whatever character"", 
which came in conflict with the rights of Nicar- 
agua, committed the fatal error of treating with 
England in an affair in which she had no right. 
He intended, by the very terms of the treaty, to 
declare that she had no rights. Why, then, in 
the name of common sense, should he have treated 
about those rights as if they existed ? r>ut here j 
i.s the article of the treaty on which all the out- ' 
rageouH claims of England are based, and by 
whicli, under the construction of this Administra- ' 



I tion, we are made to yield the whole question ori- 
[ginally in dispute, and to stultify ourselves before 
the world: 

"Art. 1. The Governments of the United States and 
Great Britain In^rcby declare that neither the one nor the 
other will ever obtain or maintain for itself anv exclusive 
control over the said ship canal ; agreeing that neither will 
ercr erect or maintain any fortifications coniinanilmu the 
same, or in tlic vicinity thereof, or occupy or fortify, or col- 
onize, or assume, or exercise any dominion over Nicar- 
agua, Costa Rica, the Mosfpiito coast, or any part of Cen- 
tral America; nor will cither make use of any protection 
which either affords, or may afford, or any alliance wliicli 
either has, or may have, to or with any State or people, for 
the purpose of maintaining or erecting any such fortitica- 
tions, or of occupying, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, 
(^osta Rica, the Mosfpiito coast, or any part of Central 
America, or of assnining or exercising dominion over the 
same ; nor will the United States or Great Britain talte ad- 
vantage of any intinuicy, or use any alliance, connection, 
or influence tliat either may possess with any State or Gov- 
ernment through whose territory the said canal may pass, 
for the purpose of acquiring or holding, directly or indi- 
rectly, for the citizens or the subjects of the one, any rights 
or advantages in regard to commerce or navigation fluougll 
the said canal, which shall not be offered on the same terms 
to llie citizens or the subjects of tlie other." 

Now, no doubt this appeared clear to Mr. Clay- 
ton, and no doubt he thought that by no greater 
sacrifice than the great principle of " non inter- 
vention by the Powers of^ Europe in the domestic 
affairs of the independent States of this continent," 
he had attained his object and avoided any collision 
with England. On the contrary, England has so 
construed the treaty as to make it an acknowl- 
edgment of all her most extravagant demands. 
Mr. Bulwer says, in a letter to Mr. Webster, that 
the agreement was not designed to affect the position 
of Great Britain as to the Mosquito kingdom — and 
argues that the mere reference to protection con- 
tained in the treaty recognizes the right and the 
fact, and that England only meant to say that slie 
would not exercise this protectorate so as to in- 
terfere with the proposed canal. Under this con- 
struction, England now occupies San Juan — now 
oppresses Nicaragua, and now sustains the very 
protectorate under which she had perpetrated all 
the wrongs we have pledged ourselves to redress. 
In further evidence of the construction put on this 
treaty by England, and also her mode of dealing 
with refractory republics, see this letter from the 
representative of England in Central America to 
thegovernment of Nicaragua, Ifjth August, 1850: 

"Instead of insisting on its supposed riglu to the Mos- 
quito shore, Nicaragua would best consult her interest by 
at once making good terms with England — for resistance in 
this matter will be of no further avail. It is impossible 
that Nicaragua should be ignorant of her Urilaiuiic Majes- 
ty's relation to the Mosquito question, as it has Ixibre it 
the letter of Viscount Palmerston, of tlie date l.'iUi April 
last, in which he declares, in the most clear and direct 
terms, the utter impossibility of acceding to the preten- 
sions of Nicaragua. On the other hand, the treaty of Messrs. 
Clayton and fiuhver, about which you have so much to say, 
anil in which you express so much confidence, expressly 
recognizes the Mnsijuilo kingdom, and sets aside the rights 
which you prctenil Niciua^ua has on that coast. The true 
policy is for Nlcaraiina to inulcceive herself in this respect, 
and to put no further conlideiice in the protestations and 
assurances of pretended friends, (viz. Americans.) It 
will be far l)etter for her to come to an understanding, with- 
out delay, with Great Britain, on which nation depends 
not only the welfare and commerce of Ihe State, hut also 
the probability of accomplishing anything posiilve concern- 
ing intiT- oceanic comnuuiication through her territories, ho- 
canse it is only in Ijonilon that the necessary cni)ital for 
such an enterprise can be Ibund." 

I will not now argue the question if tliis be the 
true consfriiction; it is or it is not. If it is, we 
have surrendered the Monroe doctrine wholly; we 
have violated our pledged word willfully, and we 
have, by acknowledging the Mosriuito king, sub- 
verted the very principle on whicli all territorial 



n 



right in the New World rests, viz: that the abori- 
gines hud only a poHseHSory risltt, nnd no sov- 
erci^Miiy or eniiiienl doninin over iiny pnrt of it. 
ll' it is not liie true construction, we are iierniitiin^ 
England to violate iier treaty olilij^niinns with us 
most injiniouHJy every day. and by this same vio- 
lation of faith witii uh, to inllirl liie deepest wron*; 
on the sister repiiljhr. whiih had ehiimed, nnd to 
•whirh we iiad promised "ur protection. 

This would lie our position if no further notion 
had i)een taken Uy this Ailministration after Mr. 
Clayton left the Dejiartment of State. Hut, sir, I 
grieve to say that the niost intolerable part of the 
record remain.s to be completed. And here, sir, 1 
■wish to brioi; a most sisi^nificant fact before the 
committee nnd the country. On theijdth of Feb- 
riinry, It^ol, tiie followins; letter was addressed by 
the Ministerof Nicaragua to liie Secretary of State, 
(Mr. Webster.) 1 give a. translation as literal ks 
j)ossibIe: 

Wamiiinoton, Feftni nry 01, 1 Ml. 

Tlie (inilorsisned, Envoy i;xirnor<liimry and Sljnisipr 
rieninotiMiti.Ty <it' llie rrnulili'' "i' MicnrnBun, liaH tlio 
Honor lo adilrcss Mr. Daniel Weh.siiT, Sri-rctary oC ?tnle 
of the .AnuTican Union, to Isubnilt lo him n tew ri'ninrkx 
ooncerniiiy the interpretntioti tliat (.'rent lirilain lia.x bo- 
lievctl n•■c(■.-■^iil^y to give to the treaty ronclmlid hi-twecn 
tliis last Tower and tlie Government of the I'liilcd .'^lalrs, 
the llUh April, 1850. It .is notorious to all Ihal Ilic said 
treaty ha;< tor object lo pive the ino.-<t coiniili-te H'oiirily 
lor the execution of the maritime canal llirouuh the Isili- 
inus ot' Nicaragua and to puaranty the neutrality of this 
important way of inter oceanic comniunicaiion. With 
out any doubt to attain this object, and in order to avoid 
dillicultii's of any kinil to the lawl'ul execution of tiaid 
treaty, both Governments have IhouL'ht neces^;nry to insert 
in ihe articles, the nomenclature of the Siati-s, districts, 
nnd localities adjoining tin; place fhrouKh which the canal 
is going to run, among others the coast and the Mosipiito 
country which form nnd constitute, and that have constiiu 
ted and formed an essential and integral pan always of the 
republic of Nicaragua. 

Hence arose that Great Britain, wishing to take ndvnn 
tage of the same test and the clauses of the treaty, lias di 
n.cted all her agents in Central .America, and principally in 
Nicariiiua, new instructions nnd communications in wliicli 
expri^sly is staled that Ihe Government of the .American 
I'ninu recognizes the existence of the prelcmled Mosipiito 
kiTiL'diim, and the usurpation of the port of San Juan, n?ul 
lliat, far from deliilitaiitiL' the rights of the savage chief, the 
treaty confirins ihi-ni in lull. 

Thr undersigned, although fully persuaded of iho error 
of the lirittsh Government, cannot help, on this account, to 
address Mr. Daniel Webster, .Secretary of Stale, with the 
view ot ascertaining if the Government of the Union really 
intends lo recognize the existence of a territory separated, 
coverin;:, and independent of the republic of .Xicaragua, 
generally known under thenameof thecoasl and Mosquito 
kingdom, nnd if the actual Administration which directs 
the destinies of die American people so wisely and prii- 
rtently, abounds in the ideas and principles expressed in the 
dispatch of his honorable antecessor of the 7th of May. 1850, 
directed to the Clinrgu d'.AlIaires of Ihe republic of Nicnra 
pim. The undersigned avails himself of tliid opportunity, 

X.C., &LC. , 

To which letter no nn.'swer has yet been returned. , 
Perhaps this silence, apparently unaccountable, 
will be made intelligible by considering carefully 
the i>r(ij(l of a convention signed liy the Secretary 
of State for the United St;ites, nnd the I'ritish Min- 
ister, (Mr. Crampton,) and presented to the gov- 
ernment of Nicaragua. The projet should be in- • 
seried entire, liut its length forbids. I give its 
substance, under all the responsibilities for any 
misrepresentation: 

I. That the entire south'Tn bank of the river San Juan 
and Lake Nicara^rua, including the depnrlment of \ieoya, 
or Guanucastc, on the I'acitic, shall be detinitely conceded 
to Costa Rica. 

n. That the IVIosquilo kingdom shall comprise the ter- 
ritory lying between the mouths of the rivers Kama and Sp. 
govia, on the eastern coast of Central America, and shall 
extend inward to the meridian of 83' 30' west longiiuile. || 

in. That the port of San Juan de Nicaraiua fhall 4)e 
"ceded" to Nicaragua by his august Majesty, subject to a ' 



• ...f«U 

M.>-.|iiiM :t ml- . ,H .1 111. .iiti. riil.c, |.,i ihfr. > . .i|>, of all 
duiii'ii eollecii-d iliirr, •( a nie ol icn i»ri cruu aiinuallVt 
III llilii niieU'l |M>li iilnt<>. 

The .M.i.<|Uiii> li ■ ' ■ r 

the lerninry heiri. 
ern eonai ol Ceiiir i 
bouiidid im follou 
ribliean .«i-:i, nl lli< . 
:M norlh laliliiilr, :t^ 
line Wl ^l lo lite |ii. i... .u ■; - i ..., 

Greenwich, iheiier dur n<iiiii on aalU n 
Segovln, Ihenrr d'lWii vniil rivrr lo I 
Ihenco riiullnrly almiK Ihr r)u>rf • 
bcmnning, nnd nil ihe re»i nnJ ■ 
and hiiidii lying Miiiihi-rly niiil «^ . 
hereloforu oreupied or rlniiniil I,, i, 
including tjreylown, lliey nball rrii 
the republic of Nicuriigtin, l<igrihi-i u 
over Ihe k«me, in eiinrldernlion '•' > ■ 
years iroin nil dtilieii Icviid niic' 
the rate of tun |ht cent, urf luli.i • 

into llie Stan- — llic perlcMl of ilm , 

Ihe day wlii'ii Niciirngn.i uliall ruiiiiiiii) iniii 
and enter into the iH-ciipancy of uniil Ion n. i 

receipt;* lo bu pnynble i|iinrlerly lu (Ueh mint a- „- ..,. 

pointed to receive them. 

KUtiragua li Tei/iilrnl not to molril or inlrrjcre rilk Uu 
. Motquito Iniliani within thr trrrtUny rrttrrr/lo them. 

The first thing which strikes one on rxnmining 
this projcl is the recognition of the J^oMcpiito 
kingdom. Thin it not «)nly dots exprrsiily hjr 
setting forth it,s boundaries, but by Rti|iulating for 
the cession (" cedtd" in the term u."<pd) of tlip port 
of San Juan on certiiin oppressix-^ cuidiiiunH, by 
the Mo.squitoes to Nicarngun. Now, nn to thia 
Mosquito kingdom, in the extracts nirendy made 
from Mr. Clayton's insiruciions to Mr. S|uier, the 
argument asjoinst sny title in them is complete, 
put 1 will add a few consideraltons nnd author- 
ities to the same purpose: 

"The ."Mosquito IndianK arc iiunk In the lnwr»| dale of 
icnorance nnd barbarism. Their nuinbrr OvUi^'nc the 
Woolwas, Itamns, 'I'owkn-e.nnd othiT« i 
sovereiantv of the .Mo-cos) doi^s not e\. 
-Mr. 7/nf, L'nitnl .S/uJm CharsiU'.r ■ 
ancin, I'chruary, If-l'J. 

" The Mo-i|uilos nre inferior lo the Indinnii of the I'Dlird 
States in personal npjii-nrnnce, nnd intliiit.h I»l,.w lh>-in 

'■■..■ he. 
• Ihe 

itrd, 
idea 
111 a 

V the 

ii 1 < .in not 

■ >• contrary, 

. .1I1V intrf- 



in the iiienlnl scale. They are luinnlid 
yond description. From the lM>t of i 
' nation' docs not exci^-d one llioiH.ind ' 
and it is not probable that one imth of i 
of a national chnracler. |i should h.- 
niinibcrof Indian lrilH>« in Ihe int'rir.r 
English to be under ^locquilo y. 
le.-irn that Ihey admit any unch a<f 
they aclunlly pmbibit, under p' • 
niixture wilii the .Mos<|iiitoii." — M, . > 
Chami d\1jfuirct, to Mr. CVuytoii, Ju 

"They do noinppcnrto linve any idea < • n ,-i;.' r,)p Be- 
ing.'" — Ynitnf't Mattfuito Shore, p. "S. 

" Cha-lity Is not considered a virtue ; polygamy ia cont- 
inon nmoiigii them."— /A. p. 73. 

" .A plurality of ml^treniieii h no dNgrnre, and ll i« nnc 
nnconimon for n nmi^li i>uhjert |o Imvp one or more of 

lhe»e unlive w( -n nl diirereiii pnttn of the cna<t. They 

have nci|uired great influence lhroi||li Uiom." — Ma€grtg- 
or's Hri>ort to hritiih Parliament. 

"I have never known n marri • • • • ■ 
them. The children nre, in gen- 
tains of irnding vi-<Hels from Jnm i 

emony with nnytliiue but rcveniK' on .m » 

born during their absence. .Many of them are ii 
them for more Ihnii liapiism. I could piinmi rale i 
a dozen children of two of tbi-se caplnins. II 



M .n|t»t 
ap- 
cer- 

. i b.-en 
■bird In 
re than 
- Ilcen- 
tiou- and immoral conduct, ihev have tdeniifini th< inM-lvr^ 
with Ihe nalivei. Their nrnvnl i« hnile.l with joy, as the 
senson of festivity, revelry, chrlMening, mid dii»auctiiTV."" 
— RolcrVt Mofi/utto Short, p. 109. 

And the Secretary of Stale of Nicaragua to 
Lord Palmerston, says: 

" You know, sir, very well, thai Ihe (>«tahli«hH pmeficr 
for a society which coiisidi'rs itself c.Tpal' .-the 

rank of a nation, to obtain itsrecosnilioi . ,o- 

licit through its chief, hi« ministers, c ted 

agents, tiic recogDitton of established i5uiii.s. i>ui iin.i rule 



14 



iirintoriialional l;i\v has in no way hccn ooinpliRd with by 
tlie pretenilfi! King of Mosquito, wtio, it is allfged, now as- 
sumes to raise the question of boundary with Nirarasua. 
Thisgovrrnnieiit has not rpeo>rnizp(l, and will neverri-eog- 
ni/.e such a kin;;dorn as ' Mosquito,' much l<'<:s tlie territo- 
rial prelpii-ions of wliich you sppak. No snoli king has ex- 
isted, or now exists. It is preposterous, sir, that a few 
savages, wandering in the forests and wastes on the coasts 
o;' Honduras and Nicaragua, living by the chase and lishinc, 
without hiiuses, without a known language, without writ- 
ten characters, arts, laws, or relision, without any of the 
elements which, according to received principles, are neces- 
sary to a national existetioe — thai such a horde of savages 
eliould profess to constitute a regular society, or what is 
more, a kingdom !" 

Cliief. Justice Marshall says — and tlie opinion 
lias never been contradicted or questioned — in re- 
gard to all Indian title: 

'• Wliile the ditlerent nations of Europe respected the 
rights ot the natives as occv}iants, they asserted the ulti- 
mate dominion to be in themselves." 

And again: 

"The United States maintain, as all others liave main- 
tained, that discovery gavii the exclusive right to extinguish 
tilt! [ndian title to occupancy, either by purchase or^con- 
quRst, apd also gave a right to such a degree of sovereignty, 
as the circuiustaiices of the jieople would allow thein to 
exercise." 

But, sir, not only are the Mosquitos incapable 
of the rights asserted for tiiem in this treaty, but 
the republic of Nicara5;ua has a title to the port 
of San .Tuan and the whole of the territory to be 
" ceded " by tliis jirojd as clear and indisputable 
as the United States to the District of Columbia. 
In loOJ, Columbus sailed from Cape Honduras to j 
the Isthmus of Panama, and took possession in i 
the name of Spain. There are .o:rants made in 
close and constant succession of dilferent parts of 
this coast by Spain down to 1786. England had, j 
however, attempted to exercise sovereignty over 

Cart of the Mosquito shore in the mean time; but 
y a treaty of the above date she recognizes the ! 
title of Spain, and withdraws her protection from j 
such of her subjects as may '^ be so daring" as to 
settle on the territory belongine: to Spain. The ' 
terms of this treaty are recoirnized and renewed by 
the treaty of Madrid, dated August 28th, 1S14. I 
The history of the time from 1814 to 1824 exhibits j 
abundant proof of occupancy by Spain of this 
coast; and when the confederation of Central I 
America declared its independence, England her- 
self recognized it with the boundaries settled in ( 
the constitution as reaching from "sea to sea." 
And on the dissolution of that confederation Eng- 
land also recognized the boundary of the State of 
Nicaragua, which was declared to run from sea to 
.sea. By two treaties with Spain, one in 1836, the I 
other in 1850, the title of Nicaragua is recognized [ 
over the AlosquUo coast and "from sect lo r,ea. " The 

Sort of San .Tuan, which this projct v.'ould make 
ficaragua purchase from the Mosquitos, was for- ; 
tilled by Spain as early as 1665, and tlie defenses 
renewed in 17^7, and her occupation of it uninter- 
rupted till 18:J4, when the troops of Nicaragua ex- 
pelled the Spanish garrison. In 1842, and also in [ 
1844, San Juan was blockaded by England as a [ 
]iort of Nicaragua, to recover claims brought 
against Nicaragua. And England n'^ver in any j 
way, till 1847, disputed the title of Nicaragua, at 
least to this point; ancl never in any manner as- 
flerted the Mosquito title south of Blewfield's Bay 
l)efore that year, when, as I luive before shown, 
filie determined to control the terminus of the 
inter-oceanic communication, and luider this am- 
bulatory Mosquito claim seized witli an armed 
force liie (lort (jfSan Juan, driving out the troops 
of Nicaragua, and holding it herself, as she still 



i holds it, under the affectation of a Mosquito pro- 
I tectorate. 

The prr.jet also contemplates a robbery of Ni- 
I' caragua in favor of Costa Rica, which is so clearly 
I and concisely exposed in the following extract, 
I that with it I may finisii this part of the subject: 

"Upon the independence of Central America, tlie vari- 
ous provinces of the old Captain Gcneralcy, corresponding 
to our thirteen colonies, took the rank" of independent 
States, and, as sucll, subsequently entered into the confed- 
eration of Central America. Kacli State assumed the bound- 
aries which it had possessed as a province. From this 
arransement there was no dissent. As provinces, the 
boundary between Costa Uica and Nicaragua had been re- 
peatedly defined by royal decrees, by the historians of the 
country, and by tlie omcial maps. This was a right line, 
running from the lower or Colon-ndo moutli of the San Juan 
' river, to the mouth of the Rio Salto de Nicoya, or Alvarado, 
on the racific. All the Spanish maps, from the earliest 
periods to that of the disruption of the Spanish Empire in 
America, all lay down this line as a boundary. Hut upon 
this point the best evidence is that furnished by Costa Rica 
hcMsclf. In her lirst constitution, (art. 15, chap, ii,) dated 
January, 182.5, she defines her boundary on the north to be 
precisely what we have stated, i. e., the mouth of tlie San 
Juan on the Atlantic, and that of the Alvarado on the Pa- 
cific. Were any further evidence necessary, it is amini<-.d 
by the map attached to Thompson's Guatemala, which was 
j furnished to the autliorof that work, orticially, by the Gov- 
! ernment of the republic of Central .Vmerica, of wliicli 
j Costa Kica formed a part. There was neither niisunder- 
1 standing nor dispute upon the sutiject." 
I " So things remained up to the 9t'i of December, 1S93, 
when the Federal Congress, from causes in no way con- 
nected with any question of territorial right, [Kissed a decree 
as follows: ' For Ihc present, a.nd until tlie boundaries of 
'the several States shall he fixed in accordance with act 
'seven of the constitution, the department of Nicoya (or 
■ 'Guanucaste) shall be separated from Nicaragua and at- 
' tachod to Costa Rica.' Although this decree was provis- 
ional, Nicaragua did not submit to it without an earnest 
protest, in which the inhabitants of the district also joined. 
The Congress, however, never proceeded to define the 
limits of the respective States, and in 1838, the confedera- 
• tion was dissolved. By the dissolution, the original rights 
; of the States, territorial as well as all others, reverted to 
them again in their sovereign capacity. 'J'he temporary 
alienation of Nicoya ceased, and it reverted to its true pro- 
prietor, whose rights, at the most, had only been suspended. 
Yet, it is upon this temporary concession of the Federal 
Congress that any claim of Costa Rica must rest; but no 
claim thus founded can for a moment receive the sanction 
of reason. 

" Still, admitting it tn its full extent, and admitting that 
Congress not only had the right of separatina Nicoya from 
Nicaragua, and supposins that it had exercised the power 
with a view to permaHency,and that the whole transaction 
had been concurred in by Nicaragua, yet, even then, Costa 
Rica could not claim a f\)0t beyond {\\e actual limit of the 
department of Nicoya, which constitutes less than one 
tliird of the vast territory which Mr. Webster proposes to 
surrender to her ! Nicoya is comprised between the south- 
western shore of I.nUe Nicaragua and the IVicific, and em- 
braces no portion olthe territory south of Lake Nicaragua, 
and below the San Juan river, a territory over which 
Nicaragua has always maintained jurisdiction, where she 
has had forts for centuries, and which she still occupies. 
As late as 1816, Costa Rica negotiated with Nicaragua for 
the jnicilese of passin^^ throi:;;h tiiis territory, and in 1848 
made overtures for the purchase of it." 

' This plan for the partition of Nicaragua was 
presented to her Minister here. He resisted and 
expostulated, but in vain; it was sent to Nicara- 
gua, and, after being considered by the Govern- 
iTient, was replied to by the following decree: 

The Director of the Stnte of Xicnrafua to its Inhabitants: 
Inasmuch as the Legislative Assembly has decreed the 

following: 
'I'lie Senate and <?liamber of Representatives of the State 

of Nicaragu3,ln Assembly convoked — 

nKCRKES: 

Art. 1. The State of Nicaragua does not accept tlie pro- 
ject of convention or recninmendatory basis, adjus'erl on 
the IfOtli of April last, between his Excillency Daniel Web- 
ster, Secretary of State of the United States, and his Ivxcel- 
lencyj. F. Crainpton, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
I'lenipotentiaiy of her Urit:iniiic Alajesty, in respect to the 
ta»ritorial boundaries between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, 
aiid tiic .separation of the Mosquito coast. 



15 



Akt. 2. The Smte of Nicnragua la dlHpoted to bavo itic 

3iit.-.siiuii 8tarlutl, in cimni'cliiiii wiih tlic poiiiU luiMitloia'd, 
isciissed bHlliri' i[iipi.'rial arlntraiurH. 
Akt. 3. Tlii; Slate (if Nicaramiu (irtiloKtH nolniiiily ai;aiTiHt 
all foreign iiitfrlfriMioe in llie allairn ofitHijovrrnMMiil.aMd 
a«;ainst Uie use of force to coerce iln will or violaw tta , 

(Jiven in the Hall orScsMonn of tlia House ol UeiireDCnt- 
atives, MiuKiuiia, Jiilv II, IKVJ. 

Ai(;rSTIN \\\l.V/A, Hey. Prct't. 

J..AQ.lsCtA„R*, {« 5,.,,,. 

Makiam ItoHNOS, S 

In tlir Kxoculivo Hall of lUe Senate, Mannsua, July IG, 

MIOCKL R. MOKAJ-K3, S.-na<c iVcj'/. 

T. lilKKRA, ) 

ThiTCtori', let it lie exeonte.l. J. I.. PINEDA, 

i>ii/»r.iii<- director of the Governmeiit oj Mcaragua, 
MaNai:l A, Jutv 19, iav>. A true coiiy : 

CASTILI.ON, Secretary of Foreign Jijfatri. 

Tlie following decree hnd been passed before 
(vi/.: in October, IHl'.t) by the stinie authorily: 

■'The I..;;i>lalive t'liainliiTs of the I!e|iulilic of Xlcara- 
gua, in view nlpasl events and existing,' circninstnnol!!', in 
confiiriiiilv with llie settled sphH'ophk <>i ilio poople which 
• it reiireseiits, soii'iiini.r iieclare : 

" 1. Their mlhcsion totlie principle ofthe total exclusion 
of European interference from the domestlo and interna- 
tional ai)Uir:< of the repuhlican AiiuTican Slates, as neces- 
sary to ilii'ir peace and independence. 

"2. That the extension of monarchical institutions hy 
conquest, eoloni/ation, or by a sup|i<>rt of savasje chiefs to 
sovereiunty, or savage tribes to national exisienee, or by 
other means upon the American continent, is in opposition 
to the interests of the republican American rimies, danjier- 
ous to their peace and sat'ety, and an encroachment upon 



they 

Hiinken 

...,. IStit il 

•renti»-ii,(froni 

vi)hn for other 



HonduraBin A ' . . I -.M . hlhv ihann ye»r'ifter 
the treaty wii.s ciiii'-I(icle<l; 
could luit liiive been " ('k- <' 
of in the flt'iel oondiii'""" ' 
i.s nerfectly dcnr that, tin • 
which 1 have nlrenily r:i. i| i 
purpoae.s,) in unlirnken stirieat iVum \~ti'.i to 1h14, 
and now governini; the relfttionolieiwocti l',iii;hiiid 
and Spain, and from lawn parsed l<y the Kii:;hi*h 
Parliament, and now m force, that Kii:;h>nd had 
no such rii;hleven in the Dith/eor Untiali Ilondu- 
n\s, ns is a.sHerted over thene ifilniidfl. 

Under these treaties, the Halr/e itself belong! to 
the SUile of Guatemahi, and the islands now iti 
di.spiite as clearly to Ilomlurn:!. I'v the seven- 
; teenlh article of the treaty of jieace, ol' ITfJ.'J, it wa« 
I provided that " lli.s liritannic MajeHtyshnll cause 
' ' to be demoii.shed all the fortifications which his 
' snbjcct.s h.ive erected in the I5ay of Honduras, 
'and other places of the territory of Sriain, in 
' that pari of the world, within four month.-!." 
The Eni^lish did d-jmolish some of their forti, 
,' but retained some of their establinhments, which 
violation of the treaty of 1763 led to another war. 
This war was conoJuded by a treaty of peace in 
■ 17H3, by which the En^'liwh were allowed the priv- 
ilege of cuitiiii; losrwood in the district •• lyin^' be- 
• ' tween the rivers I loiulo and Balize, provided that 
' the stipulation shall not be considered as deropa- 
' ting in anywise from the ri?hta of sovereigiity 
I ' of the King of Spain." Il also provides that all 
ji English subjects, *' whether on the Spani.^h contt- 



their individual and collective rights 

And thus the aflair was .suspended; and nothing ' nent, or in" any of the islands whatever depend- 
but ihe firmnes.s and decision of the Nirara- ' ent upon il," shall retire within the district above 
guan government has saved us from the deep defined. As the conditions of this treaty were 
euilt involved in the p-ojcf just discii.ssed. When ^ violated by the English, another was entered into, 
It was discovered that this plan would be opposed ' in 1786. The first article of this treaty is this: 



plan wouia be oppo 
by tlie Minister of Nicaragua, application was 
made to his government for his recall; this was 
refused, as he was a long-tried and trusted repre- 
sentative, and the reasons of the demand were 



" His Rrilannie M.ijesly's subjects, and the other coloni«t, 
who have enjuyeil the protection of Enslaiid, shall cvmcii- 
ale the cniimry of the .Mosrjuitog, as well as the continent 
in general, and the islands adjacent, wilhoul (•xceptioiii 
itunted beyond Ihe line hcrealler dcsrribe<l as what ought 



asked tor; ihev were nol given, but after the death H-.to be the frontier of the extent of territory Eranled by hi» 



Catholic .Majesty to the English, for Ihe u^es specilied In 
the third arlicle pf ihe present convention. 

•'The English line, beainning from ihc sea, shall take 
the center of the river Libun, or Jabou, niid enntinuc up to 
the source of said river; from thence it chall cross in a 
stiai^ht line the intermediate land till it inlej^sects Ihc river 
Wallace, (Uali/.e,) and by Ihc center of the same river iha 
line shall deseind to a point when- it will meet the line 
.nlready settled and marked out by tlie commissaries of Uic 
two Crowns in 17S3." 



The third article provides that the English may 
cut certain woods, and " gather such fruits of the 
earth as are purely natural or uncultivated." And 
I further: 

' " But it is expressly nsrreed that this stipiil.ilion is never 
to be used as a pretext lor enlnblishim; in thai country any 
plantation of HUt;ar, c<ill"ee, cocoa, or oiIht like arlicles, or 



of llie then Secretary of State, as lately as the 
30th of December, 1852, only the other day, the 
present .Secretary of Slate addressed a note to the 
Minister of Nicaragua, refusing to recognize him 
in his oincial character; thus proving the persist- 
ence of this Administration in the same policy 
which had dictated the refusal to answer the in- 
quiry contained in the letter to Mr. Webster, 
inserted above, and making the present Secretary 
of State a sort of administrator, de honis non, of 
the uiie.vecuted vengeance of his predecessor. 

The last point to which I shall ask the attention 
of the committee, is the seizure by England of 
the islands of Roatan, Bonacca, &c., Ac, in the 
Bay of Honduras. This has been completed in 
two acts; on thelOth of August, 1851, the super- any fabric or manulaclure by means of mills, or oiImt ma 

•_. ,i„ ,, „»• ,i,„ o„i;.,« .„^i, r..^^„„„<,;„., ,r „„,l chines whatsover, (this rcslriclinn, however, does not re- 

intendenl ot the Bal ze took possession ot, and p^^,, „,^. „^^ ^^ ^;^;. „,j„, lorcuthnsorother^visepreparing 
attached these islands as a dependency ot the oie wood,) since nil the lands in question being indispuia- 
Balize. bly acknowledged to belong to the Crown of Spain, no set- 

In July 1852, they were rei^ularly oro^anized tlementoi ihai kind, or the population which would follow, 
under the namVof the "Colony'of the Bay of Isl- '^^""''" l>« a"""''l-" 

ands." Thai this is a manifest violation ofthe In this settlement of boundaries, it will be ob- 
Clayton and Bulwer treaty, in the sense which it served that no islands are included; but m if to 
bears on its face, does nol admit of contradiction, exclude all doubt upon that subject, the fourth ar- 
But it is contended by the agents of England, that tide of the same treaty provides that the English 
under the explanations and exceptions and con- shall use for certain purposes the island of Casina, 
ditions between Mr. Clayton and Mr. Bulwer, ' of St. George's Key, but that " no fortifications 
that British Honduras was not within the scope shall be erected, or troops established there." Ar- 
of that treaty, or its dependencies. Now, admit- tide fifth also provides that some small islands, 
ting this proposition, it is a fact known to every . (not, however, those now in dispute,) may b« 
one that these islands were only held by the Eng- " used by the Enslish for the same purposes, and 
lish themselves to be dependencies of British' with the same restrictions as St. George's Key. 



16 



-?7 



•' Spanish sovereignty over the country," and the 
exclusion of any " system of government, either 
miiitnry or civil," by any other Power, are ex- 
pressly provided for in article sixth. Itisobvious, 
therefore, that the British claim to the Balize is a 
mere possessory right guarantied and limited by 
treaty, and for certain specific purposes, and it is 
equally obvious that tlie islands in dispute are not 
under the treaties, or in any sense dependencies of 
the Balize. ^ j 

The limits laid down' for the English in the | 
treaty of 17SG, were within the territory claimed ' 
by and recognized by Spain, as belon;jing to Qua- i 
tenuila, and that State has the undoubted right, de- j 
rived direct froiM Spain, to sovereignty over it. 
By the same title the islands in dispute belonged i 
to the State of Honduras, and were acknowledired 
as her territory by Great Britain herself in 1830. 
when England disavowed in plain terms the act of 
the superintendent of the Balize in seizing the t 
island of Roatan. The treaty of 1614 refers to and 
revives the treaty of 17SG with all the boundaries 
and rights which it contained, and thai, treaty ia | 
the law ot the case at the present day. And ; 
England has so recognized it ^o be by acts of Par- 
liatnent as late as 1819, and now in force, which 
amends an act passed ia 1817, in which these ' 
words occur : . | 

" Wiierens, crievoiis murders and manslauahters have | 
been coniiiiitted at the setlltment in tlie liay of" Honduras, ! 
tlie same beinji a settlement for certain purposes in the 
possessiiin, and under the protection of his Majesty, but 
not within ttie territory and dominions of his Majesty," | 
&c. " . _ _ 

As to the part we should take in any dispute ; 
between Guatemala and Great Britain, in regard ' 
to the Balize, 1 have said enough before to indi- i 
Gate my opinion; but upon the much clearer que^- 



! tion arising from the seizure of these islands, which 
were notdependencies of the Balize, but of the State 
I of Honduras, and which were not claimed as de- 
I pendencies of Balize for a year after the Clayton 
, and Bulwer treaty, and which therefore coulcl not 
come within the doubtful reservations, secretly 
made by Messrs. Clayton and Bulwer explana- 
tory, I do not see how Americans can dilTer. The 
i treaty of 1814 is plainly violated; the Clayton and 
i Bulwer treaty is as openly broken in the clause 
[ which provides, "that neither Great Britain nor 
the United States shall occupy, fortify, or assume, 
nor exercise dominion over any part of Central 
America." 

We should take such action as would enforce 
the treaty, let the result be what it may. It would 
be no war for conquest, but forthemaintanance of 
national honor and good faith. It would result in 
placing us in our natural position, as the protector 
of those republics which have been created by the 
force of our example, and which have a right to 
look to us for aid in those emergencies in which 

we ui-c tin deeply cumpiomiapj 30 they. I believe 

such a war — even if there should be a v/i-r from 
the assertion of our manifest rights — would ter- 
minate v/itli extended territory, augmented power, 
and increased influence in the world. If, in its re- 
sults, tiie ties which would exist between ourselves 
and the States of Central America, as guardian 
and ward — if the sympathy of a common repub- 
licanism should be drawn yet closer even to a po- 
litical union — I can see nothing of evil augury in 
the prospect. Not that I would desire to see war 
for this or any other purpose, but to avert inr 
jury and dis^^race; but I believe that such a war, 
and for suclf a purpose, is as sound in policy as 
risrht in morals. 



Printed at the Congressional Globe Office, Washington. 



r 



